


Under the Pen of Heart

by katychan666



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alec runs a book review blog, Alternate Universe - Human, First Meet, He's quite grumpy, M/M, literature student Alec, writer Magnus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:28:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 38
Words: 140,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25512820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katychan666/pseuds/katychan666
Summary: Alec is in a hurry to get to his classes when he ends up bumping into a person with his bike - Magnus Bane, the writer. With a sprained wrist and the deadline for his newest book coming up, it’ll be quite hard for Magnus to finish up his story. Ridden with guilt Alec offers Magnus help - to transcribe the rest of Magnus’ book. What happens when Magnus accepts the offer and Alec learns more about the nature of Magnus' novels?
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Comments: 539
Kudos: 588





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Taking the plot of manga called "The Novelist" (ポルノグラファー) and turning it into Malec AU. The beginning will be heavily inspired by the plot from the manga, but I will be giving it my own twist as the story progresses :) I hope you will like the story :)

Alec was in a hurry that day; he was late for the first period at the university. The first class that they had was on the classic English literature and he knew that the professor was a pain in the ass; if one showed up late for the period then he would bitch about it for a long time, usually he would prepare a whole ass lecture about arriving on time. It wasn’t Alec’s fault that he was running late for his classes, it was all Jace! The two of them were roommates, living together with his brother was supposed to be fun and chill, but not when there was only one bathroom and Jace took like half an hour in the shower alone to get ready for the day. If Alec didn’t get lucky and was in there before Jace, then he was in for a long wait. 

Luckily for Alec, the university was quite close to their apartment and just like per usual Alec decided to take his bite to ride to the university that day. It usually took him about five minutes of riding his bike to get over to there and he calculated if he didn’t run into too many red lights that he could still make it time. But because he was in such a hurry, he didn’t really watch where he was driving - he wasn’t really being careful and that was on him, but at the same time he really,  _ really _ didn’t want to be late.

Even if the professor was kind of old and grumpy, Alec liked his classes a lot; that was why he didn’t want to be late in the first place. Alec liked  _ classical _ literature and not the popular literature. These days all that seemed to be popular in the mainstream media were cheaply written romantic novels and Alec resented those with a passion. Maybe because he didn’t have much luck in the love department? But also because most of them were just so badly written and Alec hated that authors that were much better in writing didn’t get the proper recognition. 

Alec wanted to be a writer one day, perhaps. He already ran a small literature blog on which he wrote literature critics. It was more of a hobby, but it was a lot of fun and he wanted to make more of that one day. So, yes, Alec was definitely a book worm - he loved reading a lot more than hanging out with people and that was why Jace always poked fun at him. Alec didn’t really hold it against him - Jace just didn’t know better. He didn’t know what he was saying and Alec was just… trying to get by. There was a lot on his mind that he still didn’t feel comfortable sharing with others, but maybe one day…

Alec snapped back to reality as he made a turn to the left and then he glanced down at his phone to see what time it was. “Shit, only ten more minutes,” grumbled Alec and bit his lip, pedalling a lot faster and he then had to make a little stop at the traffic light, grumbling under his breath.  _ How was it that when he was in hurry all that he got to were red lights?  _ Oh, the universe liked playing jokes on him, didn’t they? Alec was so over it and he was counting the seconds, hoping that he could still make it in time and when the green light finally came, he didn’t hesitate and he quickly started driving into the direction of his university.

“Okay, I can still make it in time,” said Alec and decided to check up on the time again, driving fast and he knew that he should be more careful, but he took out the phone out of his pocket again so that he could take a quick glance over at the time. As he did that, he almost forgot that he had to make a turn to the right and he quickly made that turn, but he was too reckless and he didn’t see that there was a person coming into his direction as he was putting his phone back into its place. He was driving fast and the person coming in the opposite side of him didn’t really have the time to jump over to the side and what happened next was…

…  _ boomf.  _

Alec heard a loud yelp before he hit the floor and his eyes widened because he was suddenly on the floor, his knees hurting and he whined, his bag on the ground, the books scattered all over the ground. Poor, poor and precious books! Alec moved slowly, moving his legs and then his arms.  _ Okay nothing seemed broken.  _ Thank Goodness! Oh, he should have really paid more attention to where he was going and he then whined because even though nothing seemed to be broken, it still hurt as hell. The thing that hurt the most was his ass and he was massaging it, trying to stand up, but then he remembered that he bumped into  _ someone _ and he quickly felt guilt kicking in and he glanced over to the side where someone was sitting on the floor, holding on his arm and Alec quickly went pale in his face.

Oh, no, what did he do?!

Alec hoped that he didn’t hurt him too much! “Ouch, my arm,” heard Alec and he quickly stood up and slowly came closer to the man that was still sitting on the floor, clutching on his hand and was just hoping for the best, truly. “No, no, no, please don’t let anything be broken, I have deadline until the end of the month,” he carried on but then he tried moving his hand and it hurt too much, biting into his lip and he looked up, his eyes darkening when he saw Alec and he gritted his teeth. 

“Are you, um, okay?” asked Alec and then gulped a little bit because when he saw the other one, he felt his heart skipping a beat a little bit and he then quickly reminded himself that he needed to stay cool. Alec was aware of the fact that he was into guys, but he was still very much closeted.  _ Yeah, slowly in his mid-twenties and he still didn’t even have a boyfriend ever before.  _ Okay, but that didn’t matter, what mattered is that he injured someone and he felt guilty as hell. 

It was because he didn’t watch where he was going! Alec’s heart fell into the pit of his stomach when he saw the pissed off expression on the other’s face and he just chewed on his lower lip. “Do I look okay?” he asked and Alec shook his head. “Ugh, I just hope nothing is broken because I really can’t have that happen now,” he whined and Alec took in a deep breath.  _ Maybe it was better if he had someone take a look at that arm, if it hurt so much then-  _

“No,” said Alec and then rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m so sorry,” he said and the other just rolled his eyes and then stood up. “I’m sure that it’s not broken and that it’s just… I don’t know,” said Alec and then made another pause. “I didn’t watch where I was going, I was late for my classes and you probably don’t want to hear any of that, I know and I’m so sorry,” said Alec and the man just narrowed his eyes and then huffed under his breath.

“You were looking at your phone, idiot,” he said and Alec nodded.

“I know, it was stupid of me,” said Alec and then glanced at the other’s arm. “M-maybe try moving your wrist slowly?” he asked and the other listened, moving his hand again, but it hurt too much and he just whined sadly and shook his head.  _ Oh, this sucked so much.  _ Alec felt beyond guilty and he didn’t even care about getting to his classes on time. It didn’t matter. What mattered was to make sure that the other was going to be okay. 

“I need someone to have a look at it,” he grumbled, still holding onto his hand and Alec was getting more and more anxious. 

“I-I really didn’t mean to, it was an accident,” mumbled Alec and then just took a step back and he rubbed his palms together. “I’m so sorry, how can I help?” asked Alec and the other look up at him and then took in a deep breath. Exactly, it was an accident, he knew it and he slowly relaxed, just enough. He could tell that Alec felt guilty, he could see it in his eyes and he could hear it in his voice. Somehow he couldn’t stay mad at him even though it was  _ his _ fault that he wouldn’t get to-

“I’ll call my friend, she’s a nurse, she will take a look at me and-”

“Okay, I’ll call a cab,” said Alec. “To take you there,” said Alec. He couldn’t just walk away, he was also going with the other to the nurse, he needed to make sure that he was going to be okay.  _ And what was that about a deadline?  _ Was he also a student? He looked about the same age as him, maybe a couple of years older or so! But still! Whatever it was, Alec wanted to help him out with that too. It was because of him that he wouldn’t get to get his assignment done in time!

“Okay,” said the other. Alec quickly made a call and he was looking at the other, his heart hammering against his ribcage, the guilt eating him apart. The man hung up the call and then stepped closer to Alec. “I called my friend, she will take a look at my hand,” he said and Alec nodded.

“The cab should be here soon, I made sure to tell them that it was urgent,” mumbled Alec and the other just nodded. They didn’t speak too much after that, but the Taxi did manage to come in a matter of a couple of minutes and Alec followed the other into the car, the other’s eyes widening a little bit because he was caught off guard. 

“What are you-”

“Going with you so I can pay for the ride,” said Alec.  _ And to make sure that everything was okay.  _ Guilt ridden, Alec just placed his hands together. “I-if that’s okay with you,” he said and the other just huffed under his breath and then gave him a little nod.

_ Magnus didn’t even know why he said yes, the look in his eyes was just so… the guilt in his eyes made him say yes. Magnus sat into the car and took in a deep breath again, shaking with fear as he hoped that his hand was going to be okay in a matter of hours. He really couldn’t take time off. Not now when he was on a roll and the deadline was just around the corner! _

* * *

Alec was worried as he waited for the other to come back out. Alec followed him to the hospital, he was there as he needed to know that everything was going to be okay. They didn’t really talk a lot as they drove over to the hospital and Alec didn’t know if the other was okay with him waiting there, but Alec just didn’t know else to do. Leaving was out of option and his foot was nervously tapping against the floor as he waited for the other to come out, biting on his nails. He could hear them talking and he didn’t like what he was hearing.

“ _ Magnus, it’s just two to four weeks, it’ll heal fast, don’t you worry, _ ” said a woman’s voice. The friend that was a nurse, probably and the guy’s name was Magnus, huh? Kind of a weird name, but it fit him pretty well. He looked quite… not like the other people that Alec had seen so far. He was just…  _ well.  _ Hot, but he looked sparkly and he didn’t know how to describe him. He also had a very interesting way of dressing up. Fashionable, but also  _ antique  _ and very extra. He stood out for sure!

“ _ Two weeks, Cat?! The deadline is in three weeks and if I can’t really type then what’s the point?! _ ” asked Magnus, raising his voice a little bit and Alec’s heart sunk to the pit of his stomach. 

“ _ No need to raise your voice. _ ”

“ _ I know, I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry. _ ”

“ _ It’s okay, I know that you’ve been under a lot of stress lately, _ ” she said and Alec shook his head. Great and now he was there to add on to that stress. Good job, truly. Alec wanted to punch himself. “ _ It’s good that nothing’s broken. A sprained wrist heals fast, you’ll see you’ll be back in no time, _ ” she said and Alec heard Magnus sighing loudly.

“ _ Great. Now I have to call Ragnor to tell him that I won’t be able to reach the deadline… again, _ ” said Magnus and Alec was feeling guilty again. “ _ I mean what luck do I have? I finally get out of my writer’s block and now this? Ugh, this is so annoying, _ ” he said and Alec stood up and started walking in circles. 

“ _ Ragnor will understand, _ ” she said.

“ _ Yeah, you’re right. I still feel like shit about it. Ugh. Well, I guess I do need a little break, _ ” said Magnus and Alec stopped listening after that, running his fingers through his hair and he was just trying to calm down. He needed to help out - whatever it was, he was going to help Magnus out. It was the least that he could do to make it up to him, truly. As Alec was thinking about it, the door opened and Magnus stepped out, looking over at his friend again.

“See you soon,” said Catarina and Magnus gave her a little nod and a smile.

“Yeah. Thank you for seeing me on such a short notice,” he said and after he said his goodbye, he turned around and Magnus’ eyes widened when he saw that the guy that caused his sprained wrist was still there. Standing over on the other side of the waiting room, he was looking so small and Magnus sighed. “You’re still here?” asked Magnus, but not in an annoyed way. Just kind of… it was a long day and he wanted to go home.

“Y-yeah,” said Alec and then took a step closer to Magnus. “I needed to make sure that… you’re okay, I am so sorry,” said Alec and Magnus forced a smile and he just laughed dryly.

“I’ll be fine, you can go to your classes now… or whatever,” said Magnus and started walking away, going to the door and he stepped out of the hospital, Alec quickly running after him because he couldn’t just… they needed to talk. Magnus shook his head when he saw that the other was running after him and he just tried not to be rude, but he really didn’t want more company. “You don’t have to follow me like a puppy, I can go home on my own,” said Magnus and Alec rubbed the back of his neck.

“I-I know, but I overheard that you have a deadline?” asked Alec and Magnus lifted a finger up.

“I’m really  _ not _ in the mood,” said Magnus, placing his hand over the injured hand. Catarina did an amazing job with wrapping it all up, putting it in place and he just chewed on his lip.

“I know I just wanna help,” said Alec and Magnus turned around. Help him, how? “I-I overheard you talking with your friend before,” he said. “And you mentioned typing, so it’s a report or something like that?” asked Alec. “I’m a literature student, I have to write a lot of essays and stuff like that, so if you want,” he said. “I can help. I’m a faster typer and I’m good at grammar, so I could help you out,” offered Alec and Magnus arched a brow.

“What?”

“Well, if you want. For the deadline,” said Alec. “That way you won’t have to tell Ragnor… whoever that is,” he carried on, babbling more than anything because he was nervous because he realised that he was probably too pushy. Right? Alec didn’t know, it was all just so-

“He’s my editor,” said Magnus, but was getting kind of intrigued by the idea. To be the narrator and have someone to type instead of him. That was kind of… interesting idea. If the other was as good as he claimed then maybe… it could work. He really couldn’t be late again with the deadline again and he just-

“Editor?” asked Alec and his jaw dropped. “Are you a writer?” 

“Yes,” said Magnus carefully and Alec became even more interested. It clicked to Magnus then - he was a literature student, that was why and he just smiled.  _ Yeah, he wasn’t really sure if a literature student would appreciate his works.  _ They were usually the worst, but he kind of figured that he wouldn’t be able to get home that day if he wouldn’t allow the other to repay to him somehow. The guilt was real.

“That’s so cool, what kind of books do you write?”

“I suppose that’s not really relevant,” said Magnus and Alec quickly nodded.

“Yes, of course. I’m sorry,” said Alec. “I believe it would be difficult to type with a sprained wrist, so what do you say?” asked Alec and Magnus didn’t say much. “Please, I feel terrible, I need to do something. I’m not really a superhero with healing powers to heal your wrist,” grumbled Alec and Magnus almost giggled.  _ Almost.  _ He was an interesting person to say at least. “But I can do this. You narrate, I type,” said Alec. “For free, of course… it’s truly the least I can do,” said Alec.

“I’ll think about it,” said Magnus in the end because he needed more time and Alec perked up.

“Okay. Yes, of course,” said Alec and then rubbed the back of his neck. He then reached into his backpack, tore a piece of a paper out of his notebook and scribbled down his number, giving it over to Magnus. “My number, do let me know,” said Alec. Magnus thanked him and then took the piece of paper into his hand.  _ Ah, he added his name as well.  _

**Alec Lightwood.**

“I will give you a call, Alec,” said Magnus in the end and Alec didn’t like how his cheeks heated up when Magnus said his name. He nervously giggled and then he nodded.

“Okay, yes, good.”

“Right,” said Magnus and tucked the paper into his pocket with his left hand. 

“Should I-”

“Go to your classes,” said Magnus and Alec looked at him. “I’m sure, I live around the corner,” said Magnus and Alec glanced down. Okay, that was good. After ten more apologies, Alec finally was sure enough that it was okay for him to leave and he eventually headed over to the university, Magnus on his mind constantly. He hoped that the other was going to agree to his offer. 

Later that day, a text came from an unknown number.

_ We have a deal. - Magnus Bane _


	2. Chapter 2

Alec was happy that Magnus agreed to his offer - the guilt was tearing Alec apart and he felt a lot better when Magnus sent him that text. The two of them decided to meet up right the next day; Alec had just a few classes early into the day, so after his lunch break Alec headed straight over Magnus’ place. Magnus texted him the address from where he worked and as Alec headed over there, he quite soon realised that it was his apartment. But then again that made since he was a writer. Most writers worked from home and Alec was actually very excited to see what kind of works Magnus wrote. He seemed like a mysterious type of guy and Alec was very, very interested. Not just because he looked gorgeous (thought that did add onto his spiked interests), but because he was always happy to meet a writer. 

Because Alec couldn’t really help his curiosity, he tried seeking out the writer by the name of Magnus Bane online, but he couldn’t find anything about him. Not a book, no nothing, so that truly made him kind of… suspicious. But then again, he wouldn’t be the first writer that used different kind of pen name. It just added onto the mystery if he was being completely honest and he just rubbed his palms together as he stepped inside of the building. Magnus told him that he lived on the fifth floor, so he decided to use the elevator to get up there, taking in a deep breath and he just nervously smiled. 

Alec didn’t tell anyone about what happened - he didn’t mention anything to his brother nor his sister even though he was quite used to telling them everything. There was still a huge part of himself that he still didn’t feel comfortable sharing with them and he didn’t want them to know about Magnus. One of the reasons was because his siblings were going to preach to him about being irresponsible for not driving carefully, but that wasn’t the main point. Alec _fancied_ Magnus _like that_ and he didn’t want them to meet him because… Alec didn’t know how to put it, but he was keeping what he was going to be doing for the rest of the month as a secret.

Alec was looking forward to this - he even dressed up nicer than usual and he straightened his hair as he was inside of the elevator, checking himself out in the mirror and he puffed his cheeks a little bit and then he nodded to himself. He couldn’t wait to learn more about Magnus; he was very curious about his works. Could it be that he wrote detective novels? Oh, maybe fantasy? Alec was a fan of both and a little smile spread across his lips. Magnus did seem like someone that would be into fantasy novels. Maybe it was because he was dressed like this - very interesting. Or maybe historic novels. 

Oh, Alec was very intrigued and he took in a deep breath as he stepped out of the elevator and he glanced around, walking down the hallway and then he took the turn to the left just like Magnus told him to do and he soon found himself standing in front of the door that said _Bane_ at the top. “Ah, yes, here I am,” said Alec and then rubbed his palms together and then smiled softly. He felt giddy inside and he had to tell himself to stop working himself up so much over _nothing._

Alec wondered how Magnus’ hand was doing - he hoped that it didn’t hurt as much, biting into his lip and he then just knocked onto the door and held in his breath as he heard footsteps coming over to the door, his heart hammering against his ribcage yet again and he chewed on his lip. He was so nervous. _It was going to be just them, Alec didn’t know how to act in a company of hot guys!_ He always transformed into giggling and blushing mess, he wished that he had himself over control a bit better and he just shook his head as he heard the door unlocking and he put on a little smile, trying to look casual as Magnus finally opened the door. 

Magnus had a bright smile when he opened the door and Alec’s eyes immediately fell onto his injured hand and he just bit his lip, feeling guilty again and Magnus cleared his throat. “Ah, you’re here, I see that you didn’t have any difficulties with the directions that I’ve given you,” said Magnus and Alec just grabbed onto his backpack and he then just nodded and gave the other a little nervous smile.

“Y-yeah, there were no difficulties,” said Alec in the end and Magnus gave him another smile and then he opened up the door, inviting the other one in. He didn’t really have time to lose so he wanted the two of them to get to work immediately. He tried typing something on his own before, but it didn’t really work out. It was just far too slow for his liking and he got pretty frustrated, but he was glad that help was coming. That was also why he decided to go along with Alec’s offer. 

Magnus tried typing the day before and it was just impossible, so he texted Alec soon after that. “Well, come in,” said Magnus in the end and Alec excused himself and then stepped inside of the loft and his eyes widened, because for an apartment, it was quite large. And he lived in there completely alone? Woah! His and Jace’s place wasn’t even the half of size of this one! Alec was in awe and his jaw dropped a little bit, Magnus clearing his throat.

“Oh, sorry,” said Alec. “Um, where should I place my jacket?” asked Alec.

“Just hang it next to the others,” said Magnus, pointing over to the side where his other jackets were already hanging. “Follow me into the living room. Right this way,” said Magnus and Alec rubbed the back of his neck, feeling kind of awkward, but he didn’t say anything. Not wanting to be rude, he slipped out of his shoes - the last thing that he wanted to do was to make Magnus’ apartment dirty. He did enough bad things to the man already and after that he quickly stepped through the hallway, going into the living room.

“Your place is huge,” said Alec and Magnus chuckled softly. “You live alone?” escaped past Alec’s lips and Magnus arched his brow. Oh, right, that was too personal of a question. Alec’s heart dropped to the stomach and he just bowed his head down. Ugh, it was so impossible for him to focus on anything else than the colour of Magnus’ eyes. It was very distracting and he made a long pause. “Sorry for the personal-”

“I do live alone, yes,” said Magnus in the end and then took in a deep breath. Gosh, the other was way too nervous, he was making him nervous as well. “You know, it’s okay. Relax, I don’t bite,” said Magnus and Alec flushed a little bit because that sounded a little bit… no, it was just his mind making it sound dirty! Shaking his head, Alec placed his hands together and he looked at Magnus. “Do you want a cup of tea or something stronger?” offered Magnus and Alec shook his head.

“No, I’m good,” said Alec. “How’s your arm?” 

“Still hurts, but I’ll be okay,” said Magnus and Alec nodded, wanting to apologise _again,_ but Magnus spoke up before he could say anything else. “Tried typing on my own yesterday and it pissed me off because it was way too slow. That’s why I decided to take you up on your offer, so let’s just start? I really don’t have any time to lose really,” said Magnus and Alec quickly nodded because he didn’t want to waste time. He knew how hectic the deadlines were. 

“Y-yes, of course, let’s just start,” said Alec, cracking his knuckles and Magnus gave him a little smile and then nodded.

“Okay, then let’s go into my office,” said Magnus and Alec’s eyes widened. 

_He had his own office in his own home?!_ That was so cool and Alec’s eyes travelled over to the side of the living room. The other had so many books and Alec liked that, his smile widening a little bit. He, too, wished to have that many books when he would have a place of his own. His own room was filled with books already and Jace was always bitching when he bought more books because they were running out of space for them. And Jace really didn’t like having all of the books displayed like that in the living room. It ruined the aesthetic he said, which was kind of dumb, but ALec didn’t really arguing with him.

“You coming or will you stand there and stare at my books for the rest of the day?” asked Magnus because Alec wouldn’t follow him into his office and Alec quickly lowered his head and just apologised, following him then and Magnus’ smile just widened a little bit. _So he liked his collection of books, huh?_

* * *

“ _Rosalie looked at him and her eyes fell upon his full lips. She licked her own lips as she tried to look away, but she could feel something dragging her in. Rosalie felt Gregory’s hot breath against her cheek as he whispered her name,_ ” narrated Magnus and Alec was trying his best not to roll his eyes, going along as he was typing what Magnus narrating him. It was just… “ _‘My love,’ he said as he brought her face closer to his,_ ” carried Magnus on and Alec gritted his teeth.

Alec has been wondering for hours to finally find out what kind of books Magnus wrote and he was very excited about it. He thought that it could be something mysterious - _something considered good literature_ , but all of those hopes disappeared into thin air just about half an hour into Magnus narrating the plot to him and Alec was just… he felt guilty for what he was writing. It was everything that he despised - a cringy romance novel, that what this was, right?! His whole being hated what he was typing, but it was him that offered to help Magnus in the first place.

Was this the universe’s punishment for acting to reckless? Oh, Alec hated it so much. Magnus wrote the type of romance novels that he despised the most. They were just so… _ugh._ Magnus did have a way with words when writing, but it was just so predictable and he felt like he was wasting his talent on this, truly. Because unlike the other romance novels that Alec read so far, Magnus’ way of writing was different. It was refreshing, but this was just… ugh. Alec didn’t want to judge too much and shit all over Magnus’ hard work, but he was better than this, no? 

It was just the literature critic in him talking, but Alec really couldn’t help himself, still typing along as Magnus’ characters were kissing in the story and Alec groaned internally. The whole image that he had of Magnus - the mystery, the curiosity fell apart like a house of cards and he just shook his head again and he glanced over at Magnus, who had his eyes closed as he was going on with the plot and Alec huffed under his breath. 

“ _Gregory picked up Rosalie and pressed her up against him as he carried her over to the bedroom. Rosalie’s heart was-_ ”

“What kind of a novel is this exactly?” asked Alec, his face red because he heard too much and his inner critic couldn’t just stay quiet. Magnus’ eyes snapped open and he looked around the room, narrowing his eyes and he arched his brow. He was in the zone and it took him awhile for him to be back and he grumbled because he knew that something like that ought to be coming from a _literature_ student and he just rolled his eyes.

“Isn’t it obvious? Romance novel,” said Magnus.

“They’re going to the bedroom,” argued Alec and flushed. Magnus chuckled and crossed his legs.

“Well, it’s for adults,” said Magnus simply and Alec looked down at the screen and then he looked back up at Magnus. Alec huffed under his breath and he finally got what Magnus was aiming at, shaking his head.

“You write _porn?!_ ”

“I think the word you’re looking for is _erotica,_ ” said Magnus and giggled because Alec didn’t look too impressed. Magnus arched his brow because he didn’t get what the big deal was; the other was way over twenty, so he didn’t know why he was flushing so much. To Magnus the topic of sex wasn’t anything taboo or anything like that, but it seemed that Alec was a little bit more… hmm, what was the word for it? Uptight? “I like the term romance novels for adults,” said Magnus and took a sip of his tea.

“But-”

“Yes?”

“I just… did not expect you to be _this_ kind of writer,” mumbled Alec and Magnus arched his brow because he wasn’t really pissed off but he was also kind of sick and tired of people like Alec to bring him down for his writing and he just crossed his arms on top of his chest because he wanted to hear more of what was on Alec’s mind.

“ _This_ kind of writer?” asked Magnus and didn’t hide the annoyance in his voice.

“I thought you produced real literature, that’s all,” escaped past Alec’s lips and Magnus took in a deep breath and then he rolled his eyes.

“And who made you the president of deciding what classifies as the real literature? I mean truly I’ve had my fair share of literature critics and they’ve been all like you. Does it really matter what kind of things I write about?” asked Magnus and then rolled his eyes, biting his lip. “People do happen to be into these kinds of novels and I don’t think there’s no shame in it. If you don’t like it, you shouldn’t shame other people for liking romance novels. Truly,” said Magnus and shook his head. “This is why literature students piss me off so much.”

Alec didn’t speak for a very long time because he felt bad for saying what he did and he just clasped his hands together. He realised that Magnus did have a point - _if he didn’t like it then it didn’t mean that others couldn’t enjoy something._ And he felt like a dick, biting into his lip and he then took in a deep breath. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like this,” said Alec and then glanced down. “I just expected you to… doesn’t matter. Shouldn’t shit all over your hard work,” he said and Magnus waved it off.

“It’s fine,” said Magnus and then stood up. “I should’ve told you before. I didn’t think of it too much, but I usually forget that not all people are as open as me about topics like this,” said Magnus and then cocked his head to the side. “Didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, for that I am sorry,” said Magnus - Magnus also felt guilty and Alec just shook his head. _He didn’t feel uncomfortable, it was just that-_

“It’s fine,” said Alec and Magnus bit his lip.

“You sure?” asked Magnus.

“Yeah, it’s fine,” said Alec. “I promise. Sorry for saying that your books don’t classify as real literature,” he said and Magnus chuckled.

“It’s okay, your professors have brainwashed you,” said Magnus and Alec started laughing loudly. _He liked Magnus, he said what was on his mind._ He was up front and didn’t hide things. Alec respected that about him.

* * *

“My poor hands,” said Alec and glanced at his hands. “Can’t feel my fingers,” he whined and Magnus gave him a little smile. He was impressed. A few hours into it, they decided that it was enough for one day. Alec didn’t lie about being a fast typer - they wrote a lot for one day and he grinned. Alec still found a bit… weird to be writing about feely and lovey-dovey stuff, but he got over it. This wasn’t about what he liked, this was about keeping a promise to the man that couldn’t do his work because of him and that was enough to get Alec back on track. 

There were so many things that Alec didn’t particularly like about the plot, but he kept his mouth shut - it wasn’t up to him. It was Magnus’ work, but the more that he learned about his writing style the more he was sure that he… Magnus really knew his way with words. His writing style was warm, easy to understand, yet deep and just… Alec knew it. He didn’t know how to explain it, but he could have sworn that-

“Sorry for the torture, but I was on a roll and couldn’t stop. My muse is like this sometimes,” said Magnus and Alec chuckled and then nodded. _Yeah, he could see that much._ “Ragnor will be impressed with me today,” he said and waggled his eyebrows and Alec grinned. Right, the editor.

“Yeah,” said Alec and then hummed. “You’ve published books before, right?”

“Yeah,” said Magnus and Alec frowned.

“Oh, that’s weird. I tried Googling you, but I couldn’t find anything about you online,” said Alec and Magnus chuckled.

“Were you doing background check on me, Alec?”

Alec flushed and quickly shook his head. “I just got curious,” said Alec.

“Well, I don’t use my real name,” said Magnus and winked. Alec perked up. “My pen name is M. A. Matthews,” said Magnus and Alec arched his brow. “No, it doesn’t mean anything,” said Magnus because he was kind of used to getting these kinds of questions. “It’s a random name I got on a pen name generator website,” said Magnus and Alec blinked a few times and started laughing loudly. He didn’t even know why he found it so funny, but it was just…

Magnus was really an interesting guy.

Magnus cocked his head to the side and he smiled a little bit. He liked Alec’s laugh, it made his heart feel… warm. 


	3. Chapter 3

Alec was checking himself out in the mirror, adjusting the collar of his shirt and he then extended out his hands. He looked good, right? It wasn’t too over the top? Alec honestly didn’t know, but he liked how he looked in the clothes that he bought just the day before and he smiled. Yeah, he started dressing up really nice now that he started… working for Magnus, so to speak and it was quite a lot of fun. He still detested what Magnus was writing, but he learned to keep his mouth shut. If Magnus happened to be the romantic soul that he was, then so be it. It was kind of adorable, maybe. Alec cleared his throat and then he straightened himself up as he was checking himself out in the mirror and a little smile spread across his lips. Oh, yes, he looked rather nice! He just needed to fix his hair a little bit and he could be on his way!

It’s been four days since Alec started going over to Magnus’ every day and even though it was kind of hectic because of the university, he didn’t really mind it. It was weekend - Saturday - which was going to give him plenty of time to spend with Magnus. Whole day over there, it was going to be perfect and he felt his cheeks heating up because he did like Magnus. He managed at least that; to admit it to himself and his smile was growing because Magnus was just… such an interesting man and he wanted to know more about him. He didn’t know a lot - they were mainly writing Magnus’ book, that was all, but maybe because today he had whole day with him, maybe he could learn more about him!

Alec was so busy with trying to look perfect that he didn’t even notice Jace sitting in the back. Alec was in the living room - they only had a big mirror in there and Alec didn’t really particularly care if someone saw him, Jace narrowing his eyes behind Alec and he grinned. Alec has been spending a lot of time outside for the last few days and it made Jace wonder what Alec was doing.  _ And with whom!  _ Jace didn’t want to be nosy, but it was just… Alec didn’t get out much, so it was really a change to see Alec being so eager to leave the apartment. 

“So,” said Jace and Alec jumped a little bit because he completely forgot about Jace being i there as well; he was completely absorbed in getting ready, nothing but Magnus on his mind and he quickly turned around to his brother. “Going out again?” asked Jace and waggled his eyebrows. Alec flushed a little bit, but he also rolled his eyes because he knew that Jace was going to ask him eventually about it and because there was only  _ one _ thing on the other’s mind, he knew what he was going to ask him.

“Yes,” said Alec happily and Jace then hummed. “Is there a problem?”

“Oh, no, no problems,” said Jace and snickered a little bit because he could tell that his brother was getting defensive about his questions after all. “It’s just… well, nothing really. You should be having fun, you know?” asked Jace and waggled his eyebrows. Alec just rolled his eyes again and didn’t make a comment about it. “Seeing anyone special?” asked Jace and saw that he hit the nail on the head because Alec kind of jumped and quickly looked over at him. “Bingo, huh?”

“I’m just spending some time with a friend, that’s all,” said Alec quickly and felt his heart getting heavy, beating fast and he decided that he had enough of chatting - he wanted to get the hell out of there because he wasn’t in the mood to be discussing with Jace. He was soon going to start questioning what kind of a girl he was meeting up with and it just made Alec feel… nervous. He didn’t like talking to Jace about it, with Izzy was a lot easier because she never pushed it. Sometimes it almost seemed like she  _ knew _ , but Alec was too scared to ask her. 

“Oh, a friend?” asked Jace and winked.

“Yep, now if you please do excuse me, I’m in a hurry,” said Alec and quickly started walking over to the door and even if he couldn’t see the look on Jace’s face, he could tell that he was wearing still that stupid grin and he didn’t like it. That was why Alec didn’t waste any more time, he just gathered his things and left the apartment.  _ It didn’t matter what Jace thought, the only thing that mattered was that he was going to be spending the whole day with Magnus.  _

Alec was so excited!

* * *

“ _ Rosalie shivered when she was pushed onto the bed. She missed him, she wanted him _ ,” narrated Magnus and Alec was just typing along, rolling his eyes along as they went because that was the third sex scene that Magnus had infused into the story and he tried to play along as much as he possibly could, but he was still of the same opinion. Magnus was wasting his talent on this. Alec did search up Magnus’ pen name online and that way he managed to find more information on the type of books he published, but he didn’t really dig too deep because he really wasn’t interested. It did make him wonder though, why not use his real name? Was he embarrassed to attach his real name to these types of books? It was kind of interesting that  _ nobody  _ seemed to know his real name online. 

“ _ Her body lit like a candle with his touch, his name on his lips as she felt his lip land upon her neck. Giving into her desire, she allowed the pleasure to completely overcome her body, chanting his name over and over again, saying it almost like a prayer, _ ” carried on Magnus and Alec whined a little bit, but then quickly bit down onto his lip and Magnus snapped back to reality and glanced at Alec, who seemed like he was suffering writing all of this down and he snickered a little bit and he then looked over at the clock.

Oh, he couldn’t believe that they were going at it for almost two hours. Alec’s stamina truly was something, but his fingers had to be hurting already, no? They had whole day for themselves, maybe they should take a little break and as soon as Alec saw that Magnus’ eyes were on him, he quickly straightened himself up and pretended that he wasn’t in the mood anymore. “Next?” asked Alec, waiting for Magnus to continue and Magnus gave him a little smile.

“A little break,” said Magnus and Alec perked up. Really, so soon? “We have whole day and you’ve been typing nonstop for two hours, you deserve a little break,” said Magnus and sent him a little wink, Alec’s heart jumping a beat and he just nodded because he was wishing for a break inside. He needed a break from  _ that.  _ Also it would give him a chance to maybe get to know Magnus a little bit better.

“Yeah, I agree,” said Alec, massaging his fingers.

“How are you holding up? I’m impressed that you stopped complaining,” said Magnus, who was just making a little joke and Alec just shrugged because he didn’t know what to say and he just bit his lip.

“Well,” said Alec. “Keeping opinion to myself,” he said and Magnus snickered.

“You learn quickly,” said Magnus, entertained. “Still, if you’re not comfortable with it, you shouldn’t-”

“No, it’s fun,” said Alec and Magnus arched his brow. “I mean,” he said and then shrugged. “Apart from some of the content,” he said, trying to be respectful and Magnus started laughing again. “I, um, I do like spending time here… with you, it’s nice,” said Alec and Magnus smiled softly. Yeah, he thought the same, it was nice to have someone over, Alec was quite fun to hang out with. “Nice opportunity to get away from my annoying roommate,” he said and a smile tugged at his lips.

“Indeed, it’s fun,” said Magnus and Alec’s heart fastened.  _ Oh, it was fun for Magnus too!  _ “Chases the silence away, it’s nice to have someone replying back to me actually,” said Magnus and Alec grinned and then puffed his cheeks. 

“I know what you mean,” said Alec.

“Staying whole day, are you?” asked Magnus and Alec nodded.

“That were the plans, yes? I mean if it’s fine with you.”

“Of course, beats being alone on the weekend anyway,” said Magnus and Alec narrowed his eyes because he could have sworn that there was a hint of sadness behind those words, but the smile on Magnus’ face managed to distract him enough and he just smiled back, nodding. Yes, he could agree with that, it sucked being alone on the weekends. Jace usually went out to hang out with his… book club, like he liked to call it but Alec knew what it was really about. Alec, on the other hand, usually hung out with his sisters or on his own. But unlike him, Magnus didn’t really appear like a person that liked solitude. He seemed more of an outgoing person and it was like he chose solitude for some reason. But Alec wasn’t going to ask too many personal questions… yet.

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” said Alec and Magnus gave him a little wink.

“Very well,” said Magnus and the clasped his hands together, placing his healthy hand over the injured one and Alec’s eyes travelled down to his hand. He wondered if it was any better, rubbing the back of his neck and Magnus then spoke up again. “Well, you’re a guest and it’s very rude of me to not offer you some food. I can’t really cook in this state,” he said and pointed to his wrapped up hand and Alec quickly shook his hand, because it was okay, truly. He didn’t expect any food. “But I can offer you some snacks and something to drink,” offered Magnus.

“No, no, it’s fine, you don’t have to go through all that trouble for me,” said Alec quickly and Magnus cocked his head to the side.

“I do have to keep you well fed, I mean I will need you for the other two to three hours, so might as well order us some take out as well,” said Magnus and Alec chewed on his lower lip. “Though I do feel like in a mood for more of a snack. I’ll bring us something. What are you in the mood for, Alec? Sweet or savory?” asked Magnus and stood up. Alec looked up and felt guilty, again, though he didn’t really know why, but he wasn’t really used to the hospitality of people and he just gave the other a little sheepish smile.

“Um, well, something sweet if you do have something,” said Alec in the end and Magnus smiled broadly.

“Perfect,” said Magnus and happily stepped over to the kitchen. “Ragnor brought me these lovely blueberry muffins, you’re gonna love them,” said Magnus and Alec perked up. There was the mention of Ragnor again. It was true that he was his editor, but Magnus did bring him up quite often. They seemed pretty close, huh? 

“Great,” said Alec in the end and Magnus happily smiled and quickly hurried over to the kitchen, while Alec was waiting in his office. Alec wanted to offer help, but the other was off before he could really say something and Alec looked around the office again, chewing on his lip and he smiled. Magnus had even more books inside of his office, his whole loft was filled with so many books, he was truly in awe and by the titles Alec could see that Magnus’ taste wasn’t all that bad. 

Since Magnus was writing those romance novels, he kind of expected that he also liked reading those, but he had a lot of classics among his collection of books and he was truly in awe because Magnus seemed to be a fan of many authors that he also liked. It added depth to Magnus as a person and Alec wanted to learn more. But he only knew Magnus for six days, so he shouldn’t be pushing it.

Alec wanted to learn so many things as: what kind of things Magnus liked? What was his favourite colour? What was his favourite type of music to listen to? Was he… single? Alec flushed a little bit and he shook his head. He didn’t even know if Magnus was into guys, but given his luck… probably not. Alec puffed his cheeks and he snapped back to reality because he could hear that something crashed in the kitchen and he narrowed his eyes. Was everything okay? Alec then heard Magnus cursing and he quickly stood up and hurried over to the kitchen, only to see Magnus cursing the broken plate on the floor and Alec bit his lip. He should have offered help beforehand!

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. The plate wasn’t as lucky,” said Magnus and then grumbled because he was frustrated. Things like holding stuff in his right hand still hurt and he tried not using his hand, but it was just so annoying and he pouted. “Ugh, this will be annoying to clean up,” whined Magnus and Alec stepped to him.

“Let me,” said Alec.

“Huh?”

“I’ll clean up the broken plate,” said Alec and Magnus glanced down, he truly felt just so… “And I can help you prepare us those yummy muffins,” said Alec and then waggled his eyebrows. It made Magnus smile a little bit and in the end he just gave him a little smile, sitting down as he watched Alec carefully clean up all of the broken pieces and he chewed on his lower lip.

It was hard for Magnus to reach out for help. He was too stubborn and he had learned that he should be always relying on himself and not other people, but he also knew that it was the right thing to do - to ask for help. It wasn’t a sign of weakness; he was working on it and he was quite proud of himself that he stepped away and let Alec clean things up. “I promise I’m usually a much better host, I don’t usually have my guests do all of the work,” said Magnus and Alec laughed softly.

“It’s fine, really,” said Alec. “You should take it easy with that hand and let me remind you that it is my fault,” he said. “So just sit back and let me take care of everything,” said Alec and Magnus’ smile grew a little bit and he then nodded again. 

_ The more that he got to spend time with Alec, the more he liked him.  _

* * *

“Do you really think it’s such a good idea for them to break up in the middle of the story?” asked Alec and Magnus snickered. It’s been a few hours later, the two of them had eaten a little bit and got a bit more writing done and Alec decided to voice out his opinion again. Magnus didn’t mind it, he liked the feedback. “I mean it just adds on the unnecessary drama,” said Alec because he didn’t get the sudden plot twist. “Maybe this is why I don’t like reading romance novels. I don’t know, but I don’t know. It’s not really Rosalie to just break it off like that,” said Alec and Magnus leaned back against the chair.

“Hmm?” asked Magnus and his smile was growing. “They will get together by the end of the book, no worries,” said Magnus and Alec shook his head. Again, too much unneeded drama that he didn’t like and he just clicked with his tongue. 

“It makes no sense,” said Alec.

“Well it adds on the word count,” said Magnus and Alec looked over at him. “And the readers love it, so it’s a win-win situation,” he said. “Adds on the emotional turmoil, makes the plot deep,” said Magnus and Alec stared again at the screen, biting into his lip because he still didn’t agree.

“But they made all of those plans,” said Alec, now talking about the plot. “She wouldn’t just-”

“It’s adorable how you’re suddenly so absorbed into the story yet you claim that you don’t like romance novels,” teased Magnus and Alec flushed all the way up to his ears and he just ducked his head down.  _ He wasn’t, he was just involved into it because he was spending hours and hours on writing it all down.  _ “Spoilers, but I promise they will be happy in the end,” said Magnus. Oh, it was adorable the way Alec flushed. 

“It’s not like that, it’s just,” started Alec stammering his way out, but in the end he had nothing and Magnus just sent him a little wink and Alec cursed under his breath. He was having a lot of fun that day; he got to know Magnus a little bit though they discussed mainly the plot that Magnus was going with for the rest of the book and he chewed on his lip as he massaged his hands. Not going to lie, he wanted to stop for the day, but if Magnus wanted to keep on going then he was going to keep on writing for a bit more.

“Hurts?” asked Magnus and Alec shrugged.

“It’s fine, how’s your hand?”

“Getting better, slowly,” said Magnus and then sighed, looking at the clock and then he decided that it was okay for them to take the rest of the day off for that day. Alec had his life, Magnus didn’t want to take too much of his free time. He was a student, so he knew how hectic life could be, so he needed some time off. “How about we continue another day?” asked Magnus and Alec perked up.

“You sure?”

“Of course I’m sure, we’ve written so much today, we deserve to take a little break,” said Magnus and Alec nodded, but also felt kind of…  _ he didn’t want to go yet.  _ “Also it’s weekend, I don’t want to take up all of your free time. Go out and have fun,” said Magnus and Alec gave him a look of disbelief.

“Go where?” asked Alec and shook his head.  _ Maybe Magnus wanted him to leave?  _ “Oh, you probably want some time off, yeah? I mean I’ve been here for the entire day, so,” said Alec and shrugged. Magnus smiled and shook his head.

“No, like I said, I enjoy spending time with you,” said Magnus and Alec’s heart warmed up. “You’re a good listener. If you want you may stay a few more minutes and we can just… hang out?” asked Magnus and Alec nodded slowly.

“Yeah,” said Alec and Magnus could see how happy that made him.  _ Adorable, again Alec was just so adorable.  _

“Very well,” said Magnus and then gave Alec another smile.

Alec took in a deep breath and then glanced back down. He had a few more questions that he wanted to ask, but he didn’t know if Magnus would feel- “Can I ask you something?” asked Alec, his voice small and Magnus gave him a smile on encouragement.

“Sure, go ahead,” said Magnus, giving him a little nod.

“Did you always know that you wanted to be a writer?”

The question surprised Magnus, but it also made him happy. “Oh, yeah,” said Magnus and Alec looked at him, just sitting there and listening. “I’ve always enjoyed writing. Started out in middle school when our teacher gave us a homework - to write a fantasy essay,” said Magnus and giggled. “Oh, I loved it so much, I wrote quite a long story for that age. The teacher was amazed and it was then that I discovered how much writing means to me. It’s been with me ever since,” said Magnus and Alec smiled, intrigued.

“What was your essay about?” asked Alec with a smile.

“Oh, no, don’t it’s embarrassing,” said Magnus and started laughing. Alec shook his head - it wasn’t embarrassing at all! “Well, fine, I’ll tell you, but promise me you won’t laugh,” said Magnus and Alec quickly nodded.

“Promise.”

“Well, it was a story about how Martians payed me a little visit and we went off to little adventures all over the galaxy,” said Magnus and started laughing when he said that out loud. It’s been a while since he told that story to anyone. “I still have that essay stored somewhere,” said Magnus and laughed more. “It’s so embarrassing now looking back at it, but I was so proud of it at the time.”

Oh, that sounded so much fun, Alec wanted to read it! “It’s not embarrassing and you should be proud of yourself,” said Alec and Magnus smiled softly. That meant a lot to him. “Can I read the essay?”

“Maybe, one day,” said Magnus and Alec snorted.

“Awesome,” said Alec and then hummed. “So you’ve always written romantic novels? I’m not judging, just being curious,” said Alec quickly and Magnus made a little pause. It was a little pause, but Alec could sense that there was more to it.

“I’ve dabbled, but settled for this,” said Magnus in the end.

_ What did that mean?  _

Alec wanted to ask, but then he could see the look on Magnus’ face and just decided that he should let it go. His eyes wandered off to the books shelves and only then did he realise that there were quite a few books with the pen name of M.A. Matthews on there and his eyes widened when he saw just how many of them there were. “You wrote all of these?” asked Alec because he was quite impressed with the number. Nine of the, woah!

“Yes,” said Magnus as his smile was back and he shifted on his chair. “You may pick some and take them home with you,” said Magnus, again teasing a bit. “To get more into the spirit of it all. The plot twists and such,” said Magnus and Alec laughed and stepped closer to the shelf, glancing over the titles.

_ Once Upon Us _

_ Paradise Bound _

_ Swipe of Love _

_ Dangerous Illusions _

_ Ladder of Love _

They were all very… what Alec expected from romance novels, but still he kept an open mind about it, pulling out a few different kinds of books and he was just reading over the summaries in the back and he decided that they weren’t his cup of tea, humming when he saw another title.  _ Taste of Heaven.  _ It did sound kind of predictable, but when he pulled out the book his eyes widened when he saw on the cover of it two  _ men _ kissing and he almost dropped the book. Magnus didn’t know which book he pulled out and he arched his brow.

“All okay?” asked Magnus and he saw that one book seemed to catch Alec’s attention as he kept staring at it.

Heart hammering against his ribcage, Alec turned the book around and he read the summary. The plot wasn’t anything extraordinary, but it was just… Turning the book to the front again, he took in a deep breath and he looked over at Magnus, who was curiously watching him. Alec wanted to read that book, it was written all over his face. Why the shock too? Magnus decided to see what was going on, so he stood up and walked over to Alec. 

Did Magnus like guys? Did that mean-

“Ah, this one?” asked Magnus and gave him a little smile. “One of my latest books, yeah,” said Magnus and hummed. “Quite successful in sales too,” said Magnus and cocked his head to the side. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s, um,” started Alec and Magnus looked down to the cover.

“Oh, two men? Is that what’s throwing you off?” asked Magnus and then rubbed the back of his neck. “Well. Yes. I do swing both ways, so,” said Magnus and then chuckled, but his smile faded when he saw that Alec wasn’t saying much. At first he was about to get kind of annoyed because he mistook Alec’s silence, but when Alec looked up, he recognised that look on his face. Like a deer caught in the headlights. “Is all-”

“I s-should put this back, I’ll, um-”

“You know, it’s okay to be curious,” said Magnus, trying to imply to him that it was okay if he wanted to read that book if he wanted to find some answers. Magnus could relate. Alec’s eyes fell upon the book again and he was chewing on his lip because he wanted to take the book with him so badly, but he just… panicked. 

“I’m not, I’m just… yeah, this isn’t for me after all,” said Alec, laughing nervously and Magnus nodded, deciding not to push it. Still, when Alec excused himself to go to the toilet, Magnus decided to slip the book into the bag that Alec brought with him, scribbling a little note next to it, which said: 

_ Alec, it’s okay. I hope you find some answers. If you still don’t want to read it, bring it back tomorrow.  _

Alec found the book upon his arrival back to the apartment and quickly hid it, locking it inside of the drawer that he had on the left side of his bed so that Jace wouldn’t find it, but when he went back to Magnus’ the next day he didn’t bring the book with him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's actually how I figured out how much fun writing is xD. Decided to include it into the fic, but I can still remember that essay that I wrote so vividly. And from then I never stopped writing, so to speak <3
> 
> Also, the titles of Magnus' books that Alec saw in his office are all from this website: https://blog.reedsy.com/book-title-generator/romance/  
> I'm always bad when it comes to making titles, so I helped myself with a generator this time xD  
> Hope you enjoyed the chapter xxo


	4. Chapter 4

“I’ve been talking to Jace,” said Izzy and Alec looked up at her. Izzy was visiting over, she came over to Alec’s and Jace’s apartment while Jace was out and about and Alec liked having some company. It was Monday, he was just finished with classes for the day and in about an hour he was going to be going over to Magnus’. It was like… going over to Magnus and hanging out there with him after the classes was therapeutic. It didn’t really matter how annoying the classes were, it all made it up in the end and his smile was growing, humming under his breath and Izzy cocked her head to the side because Alec was doing this quite a lot for the past week - staring into the distance while having a huge grin on his face. It was quite unlike him, but Izzy liked that Alec was smiling back.

It registered to Alec what Izzy had just said and he tried not to laugh, but whenever she announced that she was speaking with Jace was just… “Oh, that can’t be a good sign,” said Alec and Izzy started laughing next to him and she just gently hit his shoulder. “So, what did he say this time?” asked Alec because he knew just how much of a vivid imagination the blonde had. Alec loved his brother, but there were times that he really drove him nuts and living with him didn’t make the situation any better. But it was for the best now - they shared the apartment  _ and _ the rent. That was the main reason why they lived together. 

“He says that you’re going out a lot lately. Every day,” she said and Alec rolled his eyes because he knew that he should have expected that. Izzy was better with trying not to be so up into his personal things and space, but Jace had a harder time with it. His siblings truly didn’t know the boundaries at times, but still… he didn’t really hold it against him as he was sometimes like that too. It came from a place of love, but it was still annoying. At least in this instance as Alec was trying to keep it all a secret. 

“Ah, yes, I see,” said Alec and chuckled. “And because I wouldn’t tell him anything, he now wants you to find out for him where I’ve been going off to, huh?” asked Alec and Izzy just laughed and nodded. Yeah, there was no point in trying to hide things from Alec, he could always figure it out on his own and she just shrugged.

“Look, I know it’s none of my business, but,” said Izzy.  _ Oh, none of her business. This was a new thing!  _ “But I can see that lately… I mean this past week, we’ve met a few times and I can tell that you seem different. Happier?” asked Izzy and Alec tried not to smile too much, but as soon as he thought about Magnus, he was smiling again and he couldn’t help it. Magnus brought out a smile in him. Being in his loft made him feel comfortable, they were shielded away from the world and maybe that was what Alec needed at the time. Just a little secret place where he could be himself without worrying about anyone finding it out. 

“You could say so,” said Alec and his cheeks reddened a little bit.

“So, where have you been going off to? Jace said that you’ve been hanging out with a friend?” asked Izzy and Alec bit his lip and in the end he shrugged because Magnus was kind of a friend. Alec wished they could be more than that, but that was a whole different story of it all. In a way Magnus was his… boss, no? Well, Alec was working for him and maybe if he just said that he got a job then he would get his siblings off his back. He wanted to tell Izzy how much he liked Magnus, but it was just… not the time. He felt not ready yet and Alec finally spoke up.

“I mean kind of, they’re more of a boss,” said Alec and Izzy then face-palmed herself because she felt stupid for suddenly asking Alec so many personal questions. The way Jace presented it all to her was that Alec was dating someone and because Izzy happened to know a bit more than Jace, she tried telling Alec that it was  _ okay.  _ She tried telling him that all the way back when they were in high school, but Alec wouldn’t listen. But all that it was it was a… job. Alec found a job and Jace was just-

“Ugh, Alec I’m so sorry,” said Izzy and shook her head. “I can’t believe I fell for it again. Jace made it seem like… ugh, doesn’t matter,” said Izzy and then waved it off. Alec felt a bit bad because he wasn’t telling her the whole truth, but still… it was better than the narrative than Jace was telling her. “You got a job? That’s amazing,” said Izzy and Alec gave her a sheepish smile. “Congrats. What kind of a job is it? I mean what do you do?” asked Izzy and Alec then tried to think of a way that it would be the best and closest to the truth without telling her  _ too _ much about it. 

“I’m kind of working for a writer,” said Alec and Izzy’s jaw dropped because she knew how much literature meant to her brother. She knew all about his book review club and his posts made her chuckle, so to hear that he was working for a writer was such an amazing news and she clasped her hands together. 

“That’s so cool!” said Izzy. “What do you do? Are you an editor, or… I don’t exactly know how these things work, but it sounds super exciting,” said Izzy and Alec gave her a little smile and then rubbed the back of his neck. 

Editor…? Well, he did give Magnus a few pointers here and there about the plot and Magnus did consider his opinions, so… one could say that he was an editor of some sorts. “Yeah, you could say that. Something like that,” said Alec and Izzy’s eyes lit up, clasping her hands together and she placed a hand over her chest and just happily sighed. 

“Oh, that is so cool!” said Izzy and Alec’s smile widened because it was true. It was very cool and amazing, biting into his lip and he just nodded.

“Yeah, yeah it really is,” he said as his thoughts again wandered over to Magnus.

* * *

Alec was sitting in his room, his eyes looking over to the drawer where he had the book that Magnus had lent to him over the weekend and he still didn’t dare to open it and start actually reading it because it was just…  _ well.  _ He didn’t know, he wasn’t really scared but he was kind of nervous. Magnus slipped it into his bag without telling him, he gave him that short little note that told him that he hoped that he found some answers. It wasn’t like Alec didn’t know, he wasn’t searching for answers, but at the same time…

…  _ he knew who he was, but he would still like to read to book to actually make sure.  _ It was very confusing for him still. Alec wanted to read the book so bad and he was quite nervous about going over to Magnus’ on Sunday, thinking that maybe he would start asking him questions about the book, but Magnus didn’t bring it up. He didn’t bring it up on Monday either and Alec was very happy about that. He thought that things between would change, that maybe Magnus would start treating him differently or that there would be some awkward tension between them, but Magnus was same as always, kind and just focused on writing. That didn’t change.

Alec also was focused on the fact that Magnus was interested in guys.  _ That was really just…  _ Oh, it made Alec’s heart flutter with joy because maybe he had a shot. But then again, maybe Magnus wouldn’t find him attractive - he didn’t know what Magnus’ type was to be honest. And even if he was into him, would Alec be even brave enough to pursue that kind of relationship? Or would he be risking their blossoming friendship? Alec didn’t want to ruin the amazing thing that they had. Magnus said that he liked spending time with him and that made Alec very happy because it gave him hope, kind of. But then again, what was going to happen once Magnus’ hand was going to heal up and he would be able to write all on his own? Then what?

Alec didn’t want to think of that too soon because it would spoil the fun that he was having at the time and he just huffed under his breath, his eyes again glancing over at the book and he huffed under his breath. He made sure that he locked the door of his room, Jace wasn’t home and Alec had nothing to do for the next few hours. Classes were cancelled for the day. He was then going to be over to Magnus’ later on into the day. He wrote to him, telling him that the classes were cancelled, but apparently Magnus was meeting up with his editor, Ragnor, so the two of them were going to be meeting up at their scheduled time. 

Alec huffed under his breath and then he nodded to himself. Jace wasn’t home, he was alone and he could finally pluck up enough courage to pick up that book and read it. Curiosity was getting the best of him and he just pulled the book out of the drawer after unlocking it and he rubbed the back of his neck, turning the book around and his eyes stopped on the two men kissing on the cover and he smiled sadly. He wished that it could be him and his significant other. Truly. Never been properly kissed, how sad.

Alec shuddered and then he shook his head - he shouldn’t be thinking so much about useless things. He should be focusing on the book and he slowly opened it up, his heart hammering against his ribcage. It made no sense that he was sweating so much - it was just a simple romance novel. Alec read a lot of them so that he could report about how bad they were on his little blog, but this was the first time that he was actually looking forward to reading one. 

Feeling a rush of adrenaline, Alec made himself comfortable on his bed and he just slowly flipped the front page, eyes focusing on the letters and he finally stopped worrying so much and he started reading, chapter one of it all, breath shuddering as he really didn’t know what he was going to find in there, but he quite soon came to realise that it truly was just a romance novel, just like the others that he had read so far, just that it was talking about love between two men and Alec’s heart warmed up just a little bit as he was slowly reading, flipping the page after page, eating up word after word, sentence after sentence, page after page… chapter after chapter.

Even if it was just a romance novel, just like all of the others, it felt different to Alec reading those because for once in his life he could somehow… relate. The two love interests met up in the book and he already felt butterflies in his stomach. It was different indeed and because he had basically the whole noon for himself it allowed him to read  _ a lot.  _ He was quite a slow reader because he liked to really take in what he was reading and he was reading it all extra slowly, trying not to miss out on anything, licking across his lower lip.

The plot itself wasn’t really anything special, just like Alec predicted, but the feelings that Magnus was describing in the story were amazing. Just like he had noticed that with the book that he was currently transcribing for him, he truly had a way with words. Alec could easily feel what they were feeling, it touched him and he shuddered under his breath because it was just…he knew Magnus was talented but now that he actually stopped and  _ read _ something properly it felt different.

It was different.

And yet somehow Alec could… recognise that way of writing. He didn’t know how to describe it, maybe it was because Magnus was really good at writing, but it just felt familiar to Alec. It felt like coming back home and it was truly a bizarre yet amazing feeling. Maybe he did a review of his book before? He could feel like he… well, it didn’t really matter. What mattered the most was that Richard and William were going on a date in the next chapter and he was very looking forward to it.

“Oh my God, look at me, getting all flustered, heart pounding over a romance novel, how lame of me,” said Alec and then laughed at himself, but he didn’t drop the book because he wanted to see how the date was going to turn out, laying down onto the bed and he was just smiling as he flipped over the pages, reading them and his heart was starting to beat faster again because he could feel the intimacy growing between the two men. Alec cleared his throat and he couldn’t peel his eyes away.

_ Kiss, please kiss. Please just kiss, smooch each other, _ was what was on Alec’s mind and he wasn’t even embarrassed to admit it out loud. Alec bit his lip and he quickly flipped over to the next page and his eyes quickly skimmed over through the next two pages, searching for the word  _ kiss _ and look and behold, he was able to locate it. “Yes,” whispered Alec and got into position so that he could slowly read their first kiss. 

Alec could feel how nervous the characters were in the story, gasping softly when they finally went in for a kiss, his heart about to burst and he licked across his lower lip. Yes, he apparently found some answers after all because all that he wanted to do was to be in their place. He should be Richard and Magnus would be William, Alec flushing at his own thoughts, but  _ damn.  _ It answered to a lot how much he wanted that kiss and he just dragged his teeth over his lower lip, taking in a deep breath as he allowed himself to absorbed completely into the story. And the more that he got into the mood of it all, the more he saw himself and Magnus instead of the characters into the story.

And just for a second, he allowed his imagination to wander off a little bit too much.

> _ Magnus leans in when he feels that Alec is about to pull away and he catches him just in time. Reaching down with his hand, Magnus gently cups his hands and brings them up, putting them over his chest and he gives him the sweetest and the brightest smiles of them all. Alec is nervous, glancing down because he isn’t like Magnus. Magnus is a lot more experienced, Alec on the other hand not so much and he doesn’t know how to react when he feels Magnus’ hand upon his cheek. _
> 
> _ “I-” whispers out Alec, but Magnus’ finger upon his lips quiets him down. _
> 
> _ “Shh, it’s okay,” says Magnus and leans in closer again, Alec gasping softly. Magnus is so close, his eyes down on his full lips and he wants to taste them. To feel them being pressed against his. “Look at me,” says Magnus and Alec nervously glances at him. “You’re so beautiful, I really had fun today,” he says and Alec finally reminds himself that it’s his turn to say something.  _
> 
> _ “I-I… yeah, me too, I had a lot of fun today,” says Alec and Magnus gives him a little smile and leans even closer. Alec gasps, but he doesnt’ turn away - not this time. He wants this, he craves this. Every part of him, his every atom in his body wants to pull Magnus and kiss him.  _
> 
> _ “Are you okay, you’re shaking,” says Magnus and Alec gulps. _
> 
> _ “I’m okay, just nervous,” says Alec and feels Magnus’ thumb caressing the side of his cheek and he gulps again when Magnus kisses the tip of his nose. “Oh, God,” says Alec and Magnus looks down upon his face. _
> 
> _ “Is it too soon?” _
> 
> _ “No,” says Alec and finally plucks up the courage and does what he wanted for the entire time since the two met in that train. He takes Magnus by the collar of his shirt and he crushes their lips together, giving Magnus a chaste kiss and he feels Magnus respond right away, kissing him back with the same amount of passion and want. Need. His heart is about to burst when he feels Magnus’ arms wrap around him and Alec is like putty in Magnus’ arms as they kiss again, feeling a moan escape past his lips when he feels Magnus deepening their kiss. _
> 
> _ Magnus tastes so good, it is making Alec’s head spin and he feels his craving, his hunger growing more when he feels Magnus’ tongue… _

“Fuck, that’s hot,” mumbled Alec and quickly dropped the book onto the bed and closed it. Then he quickly placed the book onto its regular place and then he rubbed his palms together and laid back onto the bed because he needed to lay down after that. Shit. He couldn’t believe that he just did that.

Imagined him and Magnus.

Kissing.

“I’m so fucked,” whined Alec and then took in a deep breath as he glanced towards the clock and noticed that he should be already going over to Magnus’ and his jaw dropped. He spent three hours reading the book. Holy hell and… woah! He just hoped that it wouldn’t be too awkward to face Magnus after he did  _ that.  _

* * *

“Alec, hey,” said Magnus and narrowed his eyes when he saw that Alec was zoning out again. The other was really spacing out a lot that day and he rubbed the back of his neck. They didn’t really write a lot that day, what was wrong? Maybe Alec was having a bad day? “You here?” he tried again, Alec finally snapping back to reality and his eyes widened when he saw that he didn’t write anything down that Magnus just narrated to him and he felt terrible, but he couldn’t focus. At all. “Are you okay?” asked Magnus and Alec quickly nodded.

“Y-yes, I’m fine, w-why wouldn’t I be… all is good,” said Alec and his eyes fell upon Magnus and his heart fastened when he saw Magnus biting into his lip.  _ Fuck.  _ Ugh, why the fuck did he have to imagine him and Magnus in that story? Now all that he could think about was kissing Magnus. Ugh!

“Yeah, you seem kind of red, maybe I should open the windows a little bit, it’s kind of stuffy in here,” said Magnus and Alec grabbed his cheeks and noticed how hot they felt to the touch. Oh, he was so, so lame. He didn’t like himself at the moment and he just whined internally. “I’ll get you a glass of water too, okay?”

“No, no, it’s fine, I’m just… I’m okay, let’s continue,” said Alec and Magnus cocked his head to the side and gave him a little smile.

“You said this two times already,” said Magnus. “It’s okay, we all have days when we can’t focus. Let’s just take it easy for the day,” said Magnus and Alec just nodded in the end because he knew that it was completely pointless - he couldn’t focus at all and he hated himself for it. 

Alec was so thankful that Magnus didn’t ask about the book still. He didn’t know how he would respond to that. Magnus soon returned with two glasses of water, giving one to Alec and he quickly chugged it down, trying to quench the thirst, but who was he kidding. The thirst was there, it was getting stronger as he watched Magnus drink and he licked across his lower lip. Magnus’ lips looked so soft, his eyes falling down onto Magnus’ Adam apple as he drank, then onto his neck. He was wearing a low cut shirt, damn. If only he just leaned forward a little bit… he had a nice body. 

It looked like he took care of himself and worked out. Such strong arms…  _ ugh, he wanted Magnus to push him down and wrap those arms around him. Push him down with all of his strength and might and just do him like-  _ Alec couldn’t believe what was on his mind and he shuddered.

__ “Ah, this did the trick, right?” asked Magnus and Alec’s face was even redder than before, his imagination running wild and he couldn’t believe, but he was actually- “Now, how about we-”

“Toilet,” quickly announced Alec and Magnus narrowed his eyes.

“Um, yeah, sure, I’ll wait,” said Magnus.

Alec nodded and stood up, turning away from Magnus, placing his hands in front and Magnus arched his brow when he watched Alec side walk… kind of like crab-style until he was out of the office, then he ran towards the toilet and Magnus rubbed the back of his neck. 

“Gosh, I hope he’s okay,” said Magnus.


	5. Chapter 5

“Oh, you did get a lot of work done,” said Ragnor as he was reading through the pages that Magnus had just printed out for him and Magnus was happily humming and nodding. Oh, yes, Alec was a fast typer, maybe he was even faster than Magnus himself. Also when Alec was around, Magnus didn’t slack off like he did when he was writing on his own, so the speed of it all being written surprised Magnus himself. “You might be done even before the deadline this time,” said Ragnor, now joking of course, but Magnus was known to miss out on the deadlines for at least a week. It wasn’t really that big of a deal, but still this would be Magnus finishing on time and it was quite a big step for him. Magnus showed his teeth to Ragnor as he grinned wider and he just waggled his eyebrows. 

“I do have a wonderful help this time around,” said Magnus and as his thoughts wandered over to Alec, his facial expressions softened up and his heart warmed up. Alec was going to be coming over after his classes and Magnus was barely holding himself back with excitement. He didn’t want to show Ragnor how excited he was that Alec was coming over, but he didn’t really have to hide it as Ragnor could read him like an open book and Ragnor just chuckled. Oh, he has heard all about this boy - he was everything that Magnus talked about lately.

“Well, it’s the least he could do for spraining your wrist,” said Ragnor, trying to remind him that Alec did run over him with his bike, but Magnus narrowed his eyes as he didn’t hold it against Alec at all - it was all an accident.

“Ragnor, again, it was all an accident,” said Magnus. “Besides, Catarina says that I’m healing fast, so it’s all going to be okay,” said Magnus and Ragnor nodded because he knew that it was true. “Also hanging out with Alec is fun and he helps me out with a plot even though he detests romance novels,” said Magnus and started laughing softly. “He’s a very interesting person,” he said and then hummed. “I will introduce the two of you sometime,” he carried on and Ragnor snorted.

“I would like to meet him one day for sure,” said Ragnor and Magnus grinned.

“You’d like him, I think,” said Magnus and rubbed the back of his neck. “He’s quite grumpy, like you,” said Magnus and Ragnor gave him an offended look -  _ who was he calling grumpy?  _ Ragnor didn’t consider himself to be a grumpy person, he just liked things being in order and he-

“I’m not grumpy,” said Ragnor.

“Yeah, you kind of are,” said Magnus and started laughing. “You give me such a hard time if I ever miss out on a deadline,” said Magnus and pouted cutely. “I mean here I am slaving off in my little office and you are all grumpy when I don’t get work done in time. It’s not my fault, you can’t time writing perfectly. Writing is an art, you cannot push my muse to work faster than it wants, you know?” asked Magnus and Ragnor chuckled because he heard that excuse more than once. He heard it every time when Magnus didn’t deliver his books on time and he just leaned back in his chair.

“Uh-huh, there we go with that muse excuse again,” said Ragnor and crossed his arms on top of his chest. Magnus clicked with his tongue and shook his head.

“You cannot rush my muse, it likes to take time,” he said and gave him a little nod. “The more you rush it, the worse it becomes,” he carried on and Ragnor started to wonder if that muse of Magnus’ had a name. From the sound of it it sounded like a pain in the ass _.  _ Always complaining. But, at the same time, he couldn’t really complain too much because even if Magnus was usually late with sticking with the deadline, his writing made up for it. It truly did. He was pushing out an amazing book after the other, they all selled in high numbers and he was quite a well-known writer among the romance novel writers.

Though nobody knew of Magnus Bane - they all knew him by his pen name. M. A. Matthews, it was a pen name that Magnus chose for himself. Magnus wasn’t always doing this well with his works, but that kind of changed when he decided to change the genre of his writing. It made Ragnor wonder why he wouldn’t use his real name to publish his works, but then again it wasn’t none of his business. Sure they were best friends, but Magnus was allowed to have is secrets.

“Ah, yes, my sincere apologies,” said Ragnor and Magnus could tell that he was kind of making fun and he just rolled his eyes, but in a very fond way and he just laughed. He didn’t mind Ragnor poking fun at him like that because even if it was true that they were business partners - that Ragnor was his his editor, he didn’t mind it. After all, Ragnor was one of his oldest and dearest friends, biting into his lip. “Well, whatever - as long as this boy has a good influence on your muse, I cannot complain,” said Ragnor and Magnus chuckled.

“Yeah,” said Magnus and then smiled happily. “I suppose he does keep me grounded, you know? When he’s here, we write and that’s all. My muse doesn’t wander of and wanna do other stuff,” said Magnus and Ragnor chuckled. Oh, he could see right through his friend, though. He didn’t know how Magnus really felt about Alec, but to Ragnor it was rather clear - he liked him. It  _ that _ kind of a way and he just grinned.

“Your boy toy comes in about an hour, right?” asked Ragnor.

“Yeah,” said Magnus and shook his head. “And it’s not like that, Ragnor. Don’t make it weird. We’re just friend. There’s nothing more than that,” said Magnus and felt his heart making a little jump because he knew how he felt about Alec.  _ He did have some sort of feelings of affection towards him, but he was still sure that it was purely friendship.  _ Maybe a little crush, but he didn’t think of it too much. After all he didn’t even know if Alec was into-

“You like him,” said Ragnor. 

Magnus looked at him and he quickly and firmly shook his head. No, it wasn’t like that at all! Maybe it was a little crush, but that was all and he didn’t know why Ragnor was smirking for like that and frankly, he didn’t like it at all. He wrinkled his nose and he then just turned around from Ragnor. “I like spending time with him because he is a friend of mine,” said Magnus and Ragnor started chuckling as he could see right through Magnus. Sure, a friend - if he said so!

“Okay, whatever you say,” said Ragnor and in the end Magnus just rolled his eyes. It wasn’t like it mattered what Ragnor thought, it didn’t. Magnus knew that it was just simple friendship or a little crush and it wasn’t going to develop further. 

“Besides, it’s not like I care what you think either,” said Magnus and rolled his eyes. 

Ragnor snorted and he shook his head. But Magnus cared, he could tell it because it was written all over his face!

* * *

It’s been two days since _ that _ happened while Alec was staying over at Magnus’ and it was still hard for Alec to face Magnus properly - no pun intended. He didn't even know what happened that day. One moment he was watching Magnus sip on his glass of water and in the other moment he was running towards the toilet, desperately trying to hide his erection in his pants. It was highly embarrassing, but it had to be done - he took care of it right there in Magnus’ toilet and he was mortified with himself for what he did, but what else was he supposed to do? He didn’t even want to think about it because he didn’t like how it made him feel.

Since that day, Alec didn’t open up the book that Magnus gave to him. He just didn’t dare to continue reading it because he didn’t want to get any more images of him and Magnus instead of the characters that were in the book, but at the same time he wanted to read it until the very end. He was completely immersed into the storyline, but it was for the best, probably. He was going to return the book to Magnus and just tell him that it wasn’t a cup his tea, maybe it was for the better.

Alec was standing in front of Magnus’ loft and he was trying his best to pluck up his courage to ring the doorbell. It was finally after his classes and he was so happy to be going back to Magnus’, but at the same time he was very nervous as he didn’t know how to act around him anymore - it was just… a lot was on his mind and he was annoyed how he couldn’t just clear his mind off of the things that were constantly on his mind. It was annoying and he just took in a deep breath and then he finally rang the doorbell.  _ The wish to see Magnus was still stronger than the awkwardness that he felt.  _

And it was all totally worth it if it meant seeing Magnus. 

“Come on in, it’s open,” heard Alec. It was Magnus, yelling from somewhere close to the door, yet he was still far enough for him not to be able to reach it and Alec narrowed his eyes when he heard laughing from the apartment and he took in a deep breath. That laughter wasn’t Magnus’ - he had company. He wasn’t interrupting, was he? Alec just grabbed onto the doorknob and slowly let himself inside of the loft, looking around the place and he could hear more laughter and talking.

Yes, Magnus definitely wasn’t alone!

“You did on purpose, didn’t you?” whined Magnus, who was talking to Ragnor, who was still there. Yep, he did it on purpose, but he really wanted to meet this kid that Magnus was talking about almost all the time. Alas he wasn’t a  _ kid,  _ he was three years younger than Magnus and ten years younger to Ragnor. So to Ragnor’s standards, he was a kid after all.

“I did no such thing. I just wanted to hang out with you longer. I missed you so much,” said Ragnor, who was now making fun of Magnus, but Alec who was still standing at the door and didn’t get the full picture, grabbed onto his backpack a bit tighter and he reminded himself to stay calm. He wasn’t jealous, it wasn’t jealousy at all. Lying to himself, Alec managed to convince himself that he wasn’t jealous, but it was kind of hard to deny. 

“Oh, piss off,” said Magnus as he tried to push Ragnor towards his front door and out. He wanted alone time with Alec and he didn’t want Ragnor to interrupt by saying something stupid. Ragnor sometimes didn’t really think twice before opening his mouth and especially because Alec was still… well, Magnus gave him that book because he had a feeling why Alec was looking at it like that. But Alec didn’t mention it at all and Magnus also didn’t as he didn’t want to be seen as being too pushy. He wanted Alec to come to him to ask him for help  _ or to tell him something.  _

And if he wouldn’t, then it was okay as well. 

“Stop pushing me,” whined Ragnor, but was still laughing. 

“Get out, ugh,” said Magnus through his teeth.

“You will hurt your hand more, you should be watching what you’re doing with it, you know?” asked Ragnor and Alec just took in a deep breath again. He didn’t know what was happening, but the two of them were bickering around and it made him wonder - was this Ragnor? Magnus talked about him a lot, they seemed to be very close and it was just an odd feeling for him. He didn’t like how annoyed he felt with the editor being in there, but he was and he stepped closer to them, Magnus finally getting Ragnor to get walking and Alec almost ended bumping into him.

“Oh, shit, I’m sorry, I didn’t-”

“Ah, that’s quite okay,” said Ragnor and stood up, Magnus quickly releasing him and he cleared his throat, straightening his clothes, Magnus gritting his teeth behind Ragnor. If he said too much, he was going to make sure that Ragnor was- “Hello, I’m Ragnor as you probably heard,” said Ragnor and Alec just nodded, glancing down at the hand that was offered to him and he had to force himself to take and shake it.

“Alec,” he said.

“Oh, I know, Magnus was telling me a lot about you,” said Ragnor with a wink and Magnus flushed behind him.

“Yes, now you’ve met. Alec, this is Ragnor, my editor and he was just leaving, weren’t you?” said Magnus through his teeth.

“So soon? But you promised me that you’d introduce us to each other,” said Ragnor.

“I just did.”

“I’d love to sit around a bit and just chat,” said Ragnor. “I mean Magnus speaks very fondly about you and-”

“Say one more word and I swear that my muse will go for a year long vacation,” said Magnus. That was funny and adorable at the same time, Alec giggling at his remark and Magnus looked at him, cheering up. Did he think he was funny? Oh, that was good news! Because-

“Ugh, no need to get so pressed, I’ll be on my way, I’ll be on my way,” said Ragnor and then looked at Alec, the pout still on his lips. “I just wanted to get to know your adorable typer a bit more, but well… maybe next time,” said Ragnor, winked and then tapped his shoulder before he finally decided that it was his time to leave. “Very well, behave you two,” said Ragnor when he was all set to leave and before he was about to say  _ more _ , Magnus just quickly closed the door, shaking his head. 

Ugh.

Ragor!

Didn’t get the whole situation at all!

Alec, on the other hand, was still trying to figure out what happened. a) he was annoyed at the editor, b) he wasn’t jealous and c) the editor called him cute, which meant that he was into guys too? and d) were he and Magnus a thing?! Alec flushed up and he quickly shook his head because he shouldn’t be thinking like this! Also it wasn’t his business. “So, that’s Ragnor, huh?” asked Alec and Magnus nodded. “Is he always so-”

“Pain in the ass? Yes, yes, he is,” said Magnus and rolled his eyes and then he smiled slowly. “But I love him,” he said and Alec’s eyes widened.  _ He loved him!  _ “If it wasn’t for him, my career would still be in a complete dump,” said Magnus and sighed.  _ Still?  _

“Wha-”

“He’s one of my best and closest friends,” said Magnus in the end and then smiled.  _ Friend, huh?  _ Phew! Alec knew that if they were an item for real, he wouldn’t really lie to him as he didn’t really have a reason to and he just smiled. Oh, he was smiling way too much, but he was just so relieved and Magnus gave him a little chuckle. “You’re in good spirit today, thank goodness, the other day you weren’t really yourself and I worried,” said Magnus and Alec looked down.

Magnus worried about him?

“Oh, um,” said Alec, his heart hammering. “You-you know, just uni and stress. It gets to me.”

“You sure it’s okay for you to come here though? I mean if you have so much work for your-”

“Yes. One hundred percent, I’m sure,” said Alec quickly before Magnus could really finish his sentence and in the end Magnus just smiled and nodded. Okay then!

“Very well then,” said Magnus. “How about you make yourself feel comfy in my office and I’ll go grab us some tea?” offered Magnus and Alec quickly nodded.

* * *

Alec was proud of himself - he managed to keep his focus and he didn’t think of what happened the other day… for the most parts. His mind kept wandering off here and there, but he managed to keep himself under control, typing as Magnus was narrating the plot. Alec kept being disturbed here and there as Magnus kept whining and massaging his neck.  _ Did it hurt?  _ Well, they’ve been sitting down for quite a while and maybe his neck has gotten a little stiff. It was truly… it truly did seem painful and Alec wanted to help out. 

“Did you get the last sentence?” asked Magnus and Alec quickly nodded.

“Yes,” said Alec happily and then chewed on his lip. “Does your neck hurt?” asked Alec, hoping that he wasn’t too invasive with his questions and Magnus looked over at him and he slowly nodded.

“Yeah,” said Magnus and gave him a little smile. “I’m okay though, don’t you worry too much about me. Ragnor and I have been reading and editing the things we’ve written so far and I guess it’s just been too much for one day,” said Magnus, trying to wave it off. “I’ll take it easier tomorrow, but for now let’s just focus and get more work done. How does that sound?” asked Magnus and Alec bit his lip.

“Oh, yes, we can,” said Alec and then held in his breath. He hoped that it wasn’t going to be too annoying, but he still just- “I do kind of want to catch a little break myself, my hands are feeling kind of tired,” said Alec and Magnus then gave him a little chuckle and then nodded.

“Okay,” said Magnus. “I suppose we can take a little break after all. Ragnor did say that we got a lot of work done,” said Magnus, his left hand still over his neck as he was slowly massaging the pain away. Ah, if he could only use his both hands it would have been marvellous. It didn’t hurt too much, but still enough for him to feel it. “He was surprised, actually,” he said.

“Oh, yes?”

“Yeah, I’m usually kind of late with handing in my work, but I suppose you feed my muse so it works faster,” said Magnus and winked. Alec grinned and then shyly looked down, chewing on his lip and Magnus’ smile widened. He was so adorable when he flushed, truly. “You’re a good influence on me,” he said and Alec laughed nervously.

“I’m sure that’s not true,” said Alec, kind of mumbling it and his eyes travelled towards Magnus’ neck again. “You sure your neck is fine? As we’re taking a little break, I could give you a little massage?” offered Alec and his eyes widened when he realised that he said that out loud.  _ How could he possibly say that out loud?  _ Alec’s heart was hammering, his face red and Magnus looked a little bit surprised, but when he saw that Alec started panicking, his face softened up and he bent his neck a little bit.

“Sure,” said Magnus and Alec’s jaw dropped. “I’m not gonna turn down a free massage,” said Magnus in the end and Alec’s heart leaped up to his throat and his hands started sweating. He couldn’t possibly touch Magnus’ precious neck with his sweaty, clammy hands! He quickly wiped against his jeans and he slowly stood up.  _ Magnus was for real, right?  _ He wasn’t making fun of him? “Don’t your hands hurt though?”

“N-no, I-I’m fine,” said Alec and Magnus nodded and watched how Alec slowly stepped behind him and hesitated placing his hands down on top of his neck. He didn’t know what to think. Alec’s sudden offer caught Magnus off guard, but then again… a massage would have been good. Also he didn’t want to freak out too much and scare Alec away. He was clearly at a very vulnerable stage when it came to discovering his sexuality, so he just played it off cool. “Look down,” whispered Alec and Magnus nodded, slowly bending his head down and Alec prayed over to the Lord and all of the angels above when he finally placed his hand onto Magnus’ neck.

Magnus’ eyes widened a little bit and he let out a little gasp when he felt Alec’s soft yet kind of firm touch upon his neck and he quickly calmed down as he felt Alec’s fingers slowly pressing into the skin, very sure and very gently. It was clear to Magnus that he was nervous and scared, so he didn’t make a comment about it. But it kind of felt good, he just wished Alec would move a little bit more… “Can you go up and to the right a little bit?” asked Magnus and Alec listened. “Oh, right there, yes,” whispered Magnus and Alec gulped.

Oh, this was dangerous. Magnus didn’t even know it, but he was softly moaning along as Alec was massaging the discomfort away and his smile was growing. Alec seemed to know what he was doing. Alec, on the other hand, needed to do something. Strike up a conversation or something because with Magnus being so responsive to his massage, it was soon going to result in him running over to the toilet again and he wouldn’t be coming out for a very long time.

“So?”

“Hmm?” asked Magnus, forcing himself to open his eyes. 

“Feels okay?”

“Oh, wonderful, you’re very talented. A natural,” said Magnus and Alec laughed nervously, gently moving his fingers up and down, moving them in a circular motion over Magnus’ skin. 

“I’ve always wondered… about authors of romance novels,” said Alec, who was just bluffing at that point. He needed to avert his attention to something else and Magnus was listening.

“Yes?”

“All of the stories,” said Alec and Magnus hummed. It was kind of hard to focus with Alec doing such a wonderful job back there. “I mean at least for you, is any of it based on real stories or is it all just made up?” asked Alec and held in his breath. Yeah, that was… was a good question. Oh, Alec was so proud of himself of being able not to only string a coherent sentence together, but he also managed to make it  _ good.  _ He was awesome.

“Oh, hmm,” said Magnus and then thought about it for a little while. “Some things or events are based on real things, but for most of it all it’s just… made up stories,” said Magnus and smiled sadly. “You could call me a hopeless romantic, so some things are my fantasies,” said Magnus and Alec took in a deep breath. “Never had much luck in love life personally,” said Magnus and Alec gulped.

“ _ Oh. _ ”

“Well, what can you do,” said Magnus and shrugged. “I get to live out my fantasies through my writing, so it’s fine,” said Magnus and then wondered what would Alec’s answer be if he was about to ask… “And you?”

“M-me?!”

“Not big fan of romantic things, are you?”

“I-I-” stammered Alec, his fingers forgetting what he was supposed to be doing and he quickly placed his hands behind his back and glanced down. Alec didn’t know if he was romantic or not. He didn’t, he never dated. Always too nervous to- “Don’t know,” he said and then shrugged. “I don’t know,” he mumbled. Maybe that was why he hated romance novels so much. “I’ve never-”

“It’s okay,” said Magnus, turning around and Alec looked at him. A part of him was desperate to run away, but the other one wanted to hear what Magnus had to say. Magnus understood. “You will,” said Magnus slowly, still careful about it all. He didn’t say too much about it, but was still trying to let Alec know that he could come to him for help. He was always there and ready to listen. 

In the end Alec sat down next to Magnus and huffed under his breath. No longer did he want to run away, but he also didn’t know if he was ready to have this talk. He still needed to figure it out, how to talk about it to people. “I-”

“Now,” said Magnus because he could see Alec was getting uneasy and he didn’t want that. “How about I order some take out and as we wait for delivery we get a bit more writing done?” asked Magnus and Alec quickly cheered up. He knew why Magnus changed the subject of conversation and he appreciated it. Magnus could sense that he wasn’t ready yet.

“Yes,” said Alec and walked over back to computer. “Thank you,” he whispered, thinking that Magnus didn’t hear, but he got a reply for that too.

“That’s what friends are for, Alec,” said Magnus back and Alec’s heart warmed up.

_He was totally and utterly... deeply and stupidly falling in love with Magnus Bane._


	6. Chapter 6

The last conversation that Alec had with Magnus kind of gave him a little push forward to keep on seeking for his answers in the book that Magnus sent him. He didn’t really need any more answers, he knew it all too well, but he still wanted to come to the end of the book so that he could finally return it to Magnus. He could easily just give it back to him, but then Magnus would ask him of his opinion of it and Alec didn’t want to lie if he didn’t read it all. Also, he didn’t want to hurt his feelings by  _ not _ reading the book so in his opinion there was only one thing to do - read the book till the end. He wanted to see what happened between Richard and William. He hoped that they were going to get a happy ending, though Alec kind of predicted that they would. Magnus told him that he hated sad endings and he made all of his books end on a good note.

And that was maybe what Alec was after - to see that he could have a happy future. With a partner by his side, just living their lives happily side by side. It was just a day later and he has just come home from hanging out at Magnus’. It was another fun day, they chatted a lot, they ordered take out which had become kind of a ritual of theirs and they were just having a good time while also working. It was a lot of fun to work with Magnus and Jace finally stopped giving him a hard time about it. It seemed that Izzy had a little talk with him and it worked. For now. Alec knew that Jace didn’t have an off switch and that he would start bringing questions again.

But for now Alec was enjoying his peace.

The first thing that he did after coming back from Magnus’, he immediately took a long and warm shower, then he locked himself in his room and he finally started reading again. He made sure also that the book was put in place and that Jace didn’t get any ideas of getting through his things, but he knew that Jace would never do that. Alec was just being paranoid. That was all. Still, he made sure and the book was in the same position like the time that he placed it inside after reading it for the last time and he jumped onto the bed, heart happily hammering against his ribcage as he opened up the book again and resumed reading.

It felt just so amazing to be reading after a long day, too. It just helped Alec to unwind and get completely lost in another world. That was why Alec loved reading fantasy novels or detective ones, but reading Magnus’ romance one was also just as good. He was able to be as free as Richard and William - he could somehow see himself in them and he could just fantasise how good life was going to be in the future for him. At least that was what Magnus told him and he believed him.  _ Magnus was through all of this on his own and Alec knew that he could trust him.  _

Still, as he read through the story, he had to keep reminding himself that he shouldn’t let his imagination wander off  _ too _ much like the last time because he had quite a lot of difficulties with facing Magnus. It wasn’t good for him even though he  _ wanted _ to think of him and Magnus instead of the names written in the story, biting into his lip and he was doing quite well. He read as the plot progressed, the couple slowly growing closer, going out on a dates, but it begun to be quite  _ hard _ so to speak as the scenes between them were getting more and more intimate. The kisses were getting longer, their hands were wandering all over each other’s bodies and Alec gulpd hard as he flipped onto the next page, skimming it and he quite quickly realised that this was  _ it.  _ They were going to be doing the deed. 

“Finally,” escaped past Alec’s lips and he felt his cheeks getting red when he heard himself say that, but he didn’t put down the book and his eyes were glued on the next page, reading. They were kissing, stumbling over William’s apartment to get over to the bedroom and Alec’s body started heating up. He couldn’t believe that text had such a big impact on him. Even though he didn’t have any experiences, he wasn’t as innocent as Magnus thought. Alec had seen his fair share of porn and… this was completely different. The feelings described in there were just so intense and Alec could feel them.

All of them. Rubbing the back of his neck, he straightened himself on the bed and he looked around the room as if he was trying to check if he was completely alone and he then dared to look back to the book. “Oh, woah, look at them go,” commented Alec. Clothes were coming off, they were literally ripping them off of each other and Alec licked across his lower lip.  _ Yeah, he’d love to tear Magnus’ shirt off - with his consent - and kiss him all over. He’d also like to- _

“Nope, let’s not go there,” said Alec. There were many things that he wanted to do, but he shouldn’t be thinking of them. This was Richard and William, not him and Magnus. But it made him wonder - how would Magnus’ lips feel upon his neck? How would his hand feel slipping down his chest, Alec placing his hand on top of his chest and his breath shook. It felt nice, thinking that it was Magnus’ and he groaned. It was hard not to think of Magnus! It was just so-

> _ “Will, what do you want me to do?” asks Richard as he is staring into his lover’s eyes and William just gives him his smile, a kiss upon his lips and he chuckles. _
> 
> _ “I told you, didn’t I? Let me take care of everything. All you need to do is to lay back and enjoy your first time,” replies William and Richard nods. William could sense that Richard is a little bit nervous, but there is also burning hunger in his eyes. Richard wants this, the way that he is looking up into William’s eyes makes the older man hard. _
> 
> _ The things that he wants to do to his lover excite him. He wants to show him the pleasure that is out of his world, he wants to put his mouth on him… around him and make him scream out his name. Suppressing back a moan, William leans down again and kisses his boyfriend again, feeling his arms around him as William is pulling him down, nails gently digging into his back.  _

“Jesus take the wheel,” said Alec and laughed breathlessly. He wasn’t going to lie, it was making him feel… things, but he didn’t want to think of it. “Magnus surely knows his way with words, fuck,” said Alec, the scene getting more and more heated and he placed his hand down, crossing his legs and tried for it to have not that much effect on him, but it was impossible. Magnus was just too good at what he did. 

> _ “No need to be embarrassed,” says William. “You’re beautiful, every inch of you is beautiful,” he says and kisses Richard’s lips. “You’re stunning,” he says. The younger man clings onto him as he feels William’s hand around him and the little deep chuckle sends new wave of arousal all over his body. _
> 
> _ “Will… ah-” _
> 
> _ “Want me to stop?” _
> 
> _ “N-no,” says Richard and William smiles because he is happy that Richard is enjoying himself. He’d never want to push things too far. “More, I need you… more, oh, God,” he moans out, arching his back as William moves his hand again. William wets his lips, feeling Richard’s hot arousal in his hand, his own throbbing, but this isn’t about him. _
> 
> _ This is about William.  _
> 
> _ “Tell me, what do you want?” asks William, whispering it against Richard’s lips. _
> 
> _ “I-” _
> 
> _ “Yes?” _
> 
> _ The flush upon the other’s cheeks is red, his face is hot and he is embarrassed to says what he wants, but he knows that he shouldn’t be embarrassed. This is William, the man that he loves with all his heart. “Y-your mouth, I-” he says, but then his voice trails off. So much for being courageous. Biting into his lip, Richard looks down, but William cups his face and makes him look up.  _
> 
> _ “With pleasure,” says William. _

Alec whined a little bit as sitting in that position was getting harder and harder -  _ very much so.  _ Placing a hand between his legs, his groaned and he shook his head. He was hard, fuck it, he was hard again. Much to his luck, he was home this time. But he never… over a book. And it was such a tame thing compared to what Magnus was writing in his latest book. Even though those were love scenes between man and a woman, it made Alec wonder.

Magnus said that most of the things were based on his fantasies, but some of them were based on real events in his life. If that was the case… was Magnus into blindfold and handcuffs? Even if not, if it was a part of his imagination…  _ fuck.  _ Would he be the one being cuffed and blindfolded against the bed or would he be enjoying tying someone else up? An image flashed in front of Alec’s mind and he shuddered.

It was the scene from the book that he was still reading. Him lying under Magnus, Magnus kissing his way down his stomach, nestling himself between his and taking him into his mouth. It was all the stimulation Alec really needed and he dropped the book. It was useless to keep pretending that he wasn’t thinking of Magnus and he quickly dropped his sweatpants down, wrapping his hand around his erection and took care of his not so little problem right there and then.

He found it embarrassing how short it took him to take care of it and a few minutes later he was laying on his bed, panting and reaching over for the box of tissues, wiping himself clean as he was trying not to burst out laughing, but this was just…  _ Magnus was just too much for him to handle.  _

And how could he… face him after this?!

“I hate this,” whined Alec and groaned, feeling calmed down, glancing over to the book and he shuddered. “This book is dangerous,” he said to himself and then shook his head. “I shouldn’t,” he said, but grabbed the book anyway and continued reading.

* * *

Alec managed to finish the book by the next day and he had a lot on his mind. And it wasn’t even about him doing… stuff over reading Magnus’ book. Sure, that was a part of his reason why he was acting sort of weird when he came over to Magnus’ that day, but it was more than that. The book ended on the happy note and they had their happy ending. That was all good and amazing, but it was just… the more that he read the novel, the more he was sure that he had read Magnus before, so to speak. He didn’t know how to put it into words, but maybe it was because Magnus was his friend and just sitting in the room next to him felt like coming home.

Maybe, but Alec wasn’t so sure, he was just… he had a lot on his mind and he was kind of thinking about it when he was transcribing for Magnus that day. He was so focused on the way that he was writing that he didn’t even know what he was writing about. Those sentence structures, the punctuation, the way that he would include some phrases into the work… it was just so familiar to Alec and it was driving him nuts that he couldn’t really remember. Or did he just make it all up in his head?

Maybe.

Or maybe it was just a coincidence. Maybe it wasn’t. His writing style reminded him of his favourite books by his favourite author, who suddenly stopped publishing. Way back when. When he was still in high school he happened to discover a writer that wasn’t well-known at all, but Alec _ loved _ their books. All in all it was just three books, but he loved those. They were funny and silly, quirky, but they made Alec laugh. They made him happy, they were so close to his heart and he swore that he could recognise that writing style  _ everywhere.  _

The author’s name was also a secret - Prince of Edom. All of the books were kind of diary entries of, well… Prince of Edom. They would talk about their everyday life, putting supernatural aspects to it all and Alec knew that and loved it. Even if he was reading a diary of this… supernatural being, son of Asmodeus - Prince of Edom - he could apply it to his everyday life and it just… helped him deal with things. Back when he was really struggling with accepting himself, it helped. They made him feel like everything was always going to be okay. 

Alec  _ loved _ this Prince of Edom… guy, and he wondered… what if this was Magnus? But it couldn’t have been, the author stopped publishing all of the sudden and Alec never got his answers to what happened. There were supposed to be coming out two more books to the series, but they never came. 

All in all, a lot was on his mind and Magnus was able to tell because Alec was frowning a lot that day even after they finished writing. They were drinking their traditional tea and were chatting, but the frown was there and Alec was kind of distant.

Alec was so distracted with all of that that he completely forgot about the book. He brought it back with him and was going to return it to Magnus. Eventually. That was the plan. “Alec, you’re zoning out again, are you okay?” asked Magnus softly, sipping on his tea and Alec snapped back to reality and a little smile spread across his face and he nodded.

“Yeah, I’m okay. Just a lot on my mind,” said Alec and Magnus narrowed his eyes.

“Wanna talk about it?”

“Well,” said Alec and his voice was shaking a little bit. “I, um, I read the book that you gave to me the other day,” said Alec and Magnus perked up. Oh, he did?! That made Magnus happy and curious - what did Alec think about it? Given that he wasn’t a big fan of romance novels, he maybe didn’t like it a lot. But it was about… he hoped that he was able to find some answers.

“Found any answers?” asked Magnus, kind of blurting it out and when he saw the look on Alec’s face he realised that maybe he should have worded himself differently. 

“Oh, more than I bargained for,” said Alec suddenly and Magnus looked at him. Before he could ask, Alec quickly took the book out of his backpack and handed it over to Magnus. “Um, here,” said Alec and quickly handed the book to Magnus, who gave him a little smile and a nod. Magnus wanted to ask him more about it, but he could tell that Alec wasn’t in the mood and he just smiled. That was fair.

“So, how did you like it? It’s a romance novel, I wanna hear your complete and honest opinion,” said Magnus and Alec gave him a little smile. Just like books that Prince of Edom wrote, this one also gave him… hope?  _ Like everything was going to be okay. _

“I liked it,” said Alec in the end and smiled sheepishly. “It gives me hope,” he mumbled and Magnus smiled brightly. “Thank you for lending the book to me,” said Alec and Magnus smiled softly again.

“No need to thank me, you can borrow more if you’d like,” said Magnus and winked.

“O-oh, I’m good. Just reading this one was a little bit… dangerous,” stammered Alec and Magnus arched his brow. “I need some time,” said Alec his face reddened. Magnus didn’t get it at first, but the more that Alec kept looking away, he just-

“ _ Oh. _ ”

“Y-yeah,” said Alec and Magnus chuckled. Alec was adorable, truly. He wondered how much effect did reading  _ those _ parts have on Alec, but his body quickly heated up and he just shook his head. Nope, he wasn’t going to wonder about that. At all. “Can, um, can I ask you something?”

“Of course,” said Magnus. 

“You said once that you, um, dabbled in other genres before you settled for romance novels,” said Alec and Magnus visibly tensed up.  _ Oh, what was that?  _ The look on his face wasn’t happy at all and Alec chewed on his lip. Maybe he shouldn’t have asked? But he needed to know. It’s been on his mind for a while now, but his suspicions have gone stronger ever since he finished this book. “Have you ever published another book under a different kind of a pen name?”

“Why?” quickly asked Magnus, his voice kind of cold and Alec’s heart dropped. He didn’t look upset, but more… afraid? 

“I just kind of recognised… I know it’s stupid, but when I was reading your book, I was reminded of this another writer that-”

“Oh, it was probably someone else,” said Magnus quickly and Alec arched his brow. “I’ve written other genres, but nothing ever got published,” said Magnus and Alec could usually tell that Magnus was being truthful. He couldn’t say that this time or maybe he was just… getting his hopes up too much. 

“Oh,” said Alec and quickly pressed his lips together.  _ What if Magnus got upset for being compared to someone else?!  _ Oh, he didn’t mean it like that! “Sorry, I didn’t mean to compare you to anyone else. I like your way of writing, it’s unique and I truly think you’re very talented,” said Alec quickly and Magnus finally relaxed and cheered up again. 

“It’s okay, it happens,” said Magnus and Alec huffed under his breath. “But thank you - it means a lot, that you like my writing style even if you don’t really condone the topic I write about,” joked Magnus and gave Alec a little wink. Alec just rolled his eyes and started laughing as well. 

He was just happy that Magnus was back to being all smiles and giggles!


	7. Chapter 7

“You seem in a bad mood,” commented Catarina and Magnus glanced over at her and he just shrugged it off. He was over at his friend’s again as she was taking a look at his hand and it was slowly healing up quite nicely. It didn’t hurt anymore and just to be extra sure, Catarina decided to have Magnus’ wrist being wrapped up for another week. And Magnus didn’t really seem too concerned about it anymore, but then again she kind of knew why. Ragnor had told her about the one that was helping Magnus with typing his work and from what Ragnor told her it wasn’t just a normal business connection between the two of them, but he could tell that Magnus liked this guy by the name of Alec. She remembered that he came with Magnus on the day that he got hurt and she knew that he was the reason for the state of Magnus’ hand, but she found it sweet how he was helping him. After all it was just an accident that  _ he _ caused and was now taking responsibility for it. 

That made Alec good in Catarina’s book, but she noticed that Magnus was frowning more than usually and she rubbed the back of her neck. “Your wrist is almost healed up, Magnus. I just want to keep it wrapped up for another week just to be extra sure that it heals up perfectly,” said Catarina and Magnus just gave her a little nod, but he wasn’t really listening to what was being said. He was still with his thoughts with Alec and what he asked him the other day -  _ if he ever published anything else before. _

“Yeah, sure, sounds good,” said Magnus and Catarina clicked with her tongue and then shook her head because he didn’t get the reason for Magnus’ bad mood. It’s been a while since she had seen that look in his eyes and it reminded her of the time when Magnus was completely-

“Magnus, is everything okay?” asked Catarina.

Magnus finally snapped back to reality and the smile was back on his lips, as if nothing ever happened and he just nodded. It was a mask that he put on easily, wearing it was easier and easier. Pretending that he was okay - he was very good at it and most people weren’t able to tell when he was bluffing. All people  _ but _ his friends and Catarina narrowed her eyes. “Yeah, everything is okay,” said Magnus and then looked over at his hand. “So another week and I’ll be back to normal?” asked Magnus and Catarina wanted to ask him more about his bad mood.

“Yes,” said Catarina and nodded. “Though if I were you, I wouldn’t go back quickly to typing because you shouldn’t exhaust it quite yet,” said Catarina and Magnus nodded, placing his left hand over the wrapped up one and he smiled. He didn’t mind waiting a bit longer, it would mean that Alec would be around for much longer and it made him smile. “Just take it easy for another week or so and then, yes, you’ll be back to normal,” said Catarina and Magnus happily nodded.

“Thank you,” said Magnus and he smiled, sighing under his breath. “For taking care of me,” he said and then winked. Catarina snorted and then just sat back down, looking into Magnus’ eyes and she could tell that he was still kind off… well, feeling off? “I suppose I should be going now,” said Magnus. “Ragnor will soon come over and read through what Alec and I have written during last couple of days,” he said and Catarina grinned.

“Ah, he’s coming again?”

“Yeah, I suppose that’s just an excuse,” said Magnus and winked. “I think he just misses someone to hang out with since Raphi and you are so busy lately,” said Magnus and Catarina chuckled. “Well, I don’t mind, I like having a little bit of company,” he said and then hummed.  _ Oh, but Alec was also coming over that day.  _ Maybe he could take it easy for the rest of the day. Ragnor did say that he wanted to get to know Alec a little bit more, so maybe they could just all just hang out without getting any work done. It was what Magnus would like - he wasn’t really in the mood to be writing that day. He was just… a lot was on his mind and he just couldn’t get into the mood.

“That does sound like our Ragnor,” said Catarina and gave Magnus a little wink. “And you sure you’re okay? You looked kind of gloomy before,” said Catarina and she could sense that Magnus didn’t want to talk about it. Magnus just quickly nodded and stood up because he really didn’t want to talk about it. 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” said Magnus. “Like I said it’s just the deadline coming up and even though I’m finally finishing up with the plot of it all, it’s kind of getting longer than I first expected it to be and Ragnor is breathing down my neck a bit too much,” joked Magnus, which was true, but at the same time it also wasn’t. He had learned how to deal with Ragnor’s whining and such. But, well.

“I see. Well, if he gives you too much of a hard time, I will have a little chat with him,” said Catarina and winked. Magnus grinned and nodded. Catarina was the only one that Ragnor always listened and it was kind of hilarious.

“I will make sure to tell you,” said Magnus, picked up his jacket and put it on. “Now then, I should really get going, thank you so much and talk to you later,” said Magnus and Catarina just nodded, waving to Magnus.

“Take care,” she said with a wink and then sighed. 

She really did hope that Magnus was okay.

* * *

Magnus was annoyed that he couldn’t just let it go, but Alec’s question caught him completely off guard and he was just… annoyed. He didn’t want to think about it because in the end it always made him feel awful. His past writing, it was taken away from him, so to speak. The fun was kind of sucked out of it, it meant to so much to him and yet nobody cared. Magnus snapped quickly back to reality and he looked around his loft. He was back in his loft after the check up with Catarina and he shook his head when there was a knock at the door - Ragnor was there. Good, it was a good day to have some company. Maybe like that he was going to forget about what was on his mind!

“Ragnor!” said Magnus happily and his friend was quite surprised when Magnus greeted him so cheerfully at the door. Usually he was greeted by a very grumpy Magnus as his visits as an editor did annoy him from time to time, but it was a nice change to see Magnus being actually happy to see him. “You’re finally here,” said Magnus and then held the door open for Ragnor to step inside and the older one narrowed his eyes and stepped inside, looking around the place. Okay, this was kind of creepy, Magnus was  _ too _ happy to see him. 

“Oh, um, hi,” said Ragnor and Magnus grinned. “You’ve awfully happy to see me, why?” asked Ragnor, his self-defense up and Magnus just laughed because he didn’t understand why Ragnor was so surprised. Yes, he was happy to see him, of course he was. Why wouldn’t he be? Magnus just rolled his eyes and then stepped over to Ragnor and just waved it off.

“I was feeling lonely, let’s hang out,” said Magnus and Ragnor snorted.

“Um, okay?”

“Also, Alec is coming over later so I was thinking that we shouldn’t really do anything today and just focus on… you two getting to know each other. Just a little bit of a hang out and no business?” asked Magnus and Ragnor’s jaw dropped.  _ Magnus wanted him there when he and Alec were hanging out? Didn’t he want to spend time alone with his boy?  _ Ragnor was getting more and more suspicious, but at the same time it would do him amazing if they would be just hanging out as friends and not like they usually did on business level.

“You sure?”

“Yes, why not?”

“I mean the last time I saw Alec and wanted to stay a bit longer to get to know him, you literally threw me out of your loft,” said Ragnor, laughing and then he walked into Magnus’ living room and Magnus just chewed on his lip. Yes, that was kind of suspicious and he didn’t want Ragnor to get too suspicious like Catarina did before - he really wasn’t in the mood to be having any kind of serious talks with anyone that day and he just shrugged it off.

“I know, that was kind of mean of me,” said Magnus and Ragnor narrowed his eyes. “So let me make it up to you, huh?” offered Magnus and Ragnor laughed, but in the end he just nodded because it wasn’t like he had anywhere else to be and he accepted Magnus on his offer. He did find it kind of weird that Magnus was inviting him to stay over at his place for extended period of time, it was usually when there was something wrong and Magnus wanted company, but didn’t really want to talk about it.

Ragnor’s eyes widened -  _ hold on a little, was something the matter with Magnus?  _ It didn’t seem like it, Magnus was just smiling and setting up the snacks that they would be eating. H also decided that they should be ordering some pizza after Alec would get over there and he narrowed his eyes. Maybe Magnus just missed having fun. In the old days he was quite of a party person, but it all stopped after a little while and he smiled a little bit because he also missed hanging out with his friend like that. It was going to be fun and he just rubbed his palms together.

“So, I’ll finally meet your boy toy today,” said Ragnor and Magnus rolled his eyes and then he laughed because he was just… ugh, he needed to make Ragnor understand that Alec was kind of going through a lot and that they were just friends. That much needed to be said.

“Ragnor, please promise me you’ll behave and not make any innuendos about our relationship. We’re just friends, is that understood?” asked Magnus and Ragnor snorted because that was like the Magnus that he knew and he was pretty sure that his friend was okay, he was just needing a little bit of a hang out and he raised his hand up in the air and he just nodded.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll behave,” said Ragnor in the end and Magnus relaxed, giving him a little nod.

“Good.”

* * *

The confusion and disappointment was easy to spot on Alec's face when he saw that he and Magnus weren't going to be alone that day. Alec was looking forward to his alone time with Magnus but he was met with great disappointment when not only Ragnor was staying at Magnus' place, but his bad mood only worsened when Magnus told him that all three of them were going to be hanging out together and Alec didn't really like the sound of that. He knew that Magnus and his editor were only friends but still - he wanted some alone time with Magnus. He was being greedy and he knew that. Still he didn't want to be a dick and he just smiled and kind of managed to pass it off as being excited about meeting Ragnor.

Magnus wasn't able to quite read the disappointment but to Ragnor it was clear and it was kind of fascinating really. He thought it was only Magnus who was crushing on Alec, but the more that he thought about it the more he was sure that the boy also liked Magnus in return.  _ Was he jealous?  _ It was quite amusing to Ragnor and it made him wonder if Magnus really didn't see the way Alec was looking at him or was he just pretending. But it was just so obvious and it made Ragnor wonder. He was going to talk to Magnus about it later when it was just going to be the two of them.

As Magnus and Ragnor were chatting and laughing, Alec was just sitting there and feeling kind of left out. He didn't know the people that there were talking about and it only hit him then how little he knew about Magnus. They were hanging out for two weeks now but Alec really didn't know more than just the basic stuff about him and it bothered him especially when he watched Magnus with Ragnor. They knew everything about each other and Alec just kept to himself. He knew that it was kind of useless for him to be comparing to himself his friendship with Magnus to Ragnor' - they had more than a decade long friendship while he and Magnus just barely knew each other.

And yet it still bothered him. He didn't like how it made him feel and he was just sipping on his beer as he was looking and listening the other two. The pizza did come and they ate it already but now what? Should he be leaving? He felt like the third wheel for real and he huffed under his breath and bit into his lower lip. He wanted to make himself feel included in, but he just didn't know how. His people skills weren't very good and he just huffed under his breath and Magnus looked at him and gave him a little smile. The smile made Alec giggle and he just bit his lip. Magnus noticed that Alec didn't appear to be having fun and he quickly saw that he and Ragnor have gotten kind of talking about their old friend and he just shook his head and then leaned back against his chair, emptying his second can of beer and he cutely burped.

"Excuse me," said Magnus and Alec chuckled. He was so adorable. It's been a while since Magnus had anything to drink and beer wasn't usually his choice of drinks. But he was already starting to feel the alcohol taking its affect and he was in a much better mood. Though he still needed a bit more and he just smiled and happily looked at Alec, who gulped and then awkwardly laughed. He didn't know what to do when he had Magnus smiling at him like that and Ragnor just rolled his eyes. "So, Alec, how has your day been?" asked Magnus cheerfully. "Why the long face?" asked Magnus and Alec flushed up to his ears.

_ Was it so obvious?! _

“Oh, um, not really, just-”

“Aw, I’m sorry, Ragnor and I got caught up into conversation and left you feeling completely left out, I’m sorry, Alec,” said Magnus and pouted cutely, Alec’s heart making a little jump and he just quickly shook his head. “I’m so sorry,” said Magnus and then rubbed the back of his neck. “Did you know, Ragnor, that Alec is a literature student,” said Magnus, pointing it out for Ragnor for the third time already and Ragnor just nodded.

“Yes, you’ve mentioned,” said Ragnor and then glanced over to Alec, who was just smiling, but was feeling kind of awkward. “I was as well,” he then said and gave the other a little wink and Alec perked up. “Which one are you attending?” asked Ragnor and when Alec told him where he was currently going to, Ragnor’s eyes widened a little bit because that was the exact same where he was going to. “Really?! Holy shit, I attended it as well,” said Ragnor.

“Oh!” said Alec and Ragnor started laughing.

“Just tell me, is Wilson still teaching?” asked Ragnor and Alec looked at him and he started laughing because, yes, yes indeed he was still teaching. It was the professor that taught the classic literature and even though Alec loved the classes, he didn’t like the professor too much - he was too grumpy in his opinion which said a lot about the man if even Alec thought that he was being too grumpy.

“Oh, yes,” said Alec and then cracked up. “He’s still here,” said Alec and Ragnor started laughing.

“Holy shit,” said Ragnor and shook his head. “I thought he’d retire by now, but damn, I gotta give it to the old man mad respect,” said Ragnor and then grinned. “I loved his classes, but he is just so… very, how should you put it-”

“Grumpy?” asked Alec and started laughing.

“Oh, yes, grumpy,” said Ragnor and was laughing again. “Ah, that’s so cool,” he said and Alec narrowed his eyes. “To finally run into someone that attended the same uni as me,” he said and Alec grinned and then nodded. “Gladys still teaches?” asked Ragnor and Alec smiled. He had nothing but good thoughts about the woman and he nodded.

“Yes, she is still here with us and suffering,” said Alec and Ragnor grinned.

“Ah, yes, the younger generation still don’t know anything about  _ real _ literature?” asked Ragnor and Alec grinned.

“Exactly, she always rants about this,” said Alec and then chuckled. “I do like her a lot, she is funny,” said Alec and Ragnor nodded. Oh, he liked her the best. She was kind of strict, but she always was fair and made sure that they knew their things. And so Alec and Ragnor finally found a common ground, but all of that bonding and talking was making Magnus feeling then left out and he kept himself company with emptying another can of beer, which kind of did it for him and Alec stopped talking when he heard giggling coming from the side and he looked over to Magnus, who was now looking at his empty can of beer and was just giggling.

“Magnus?” asked Alec, kind of alarmed and Ragnor just rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“Not to worry, Alec, he just had a bit too much to drink,” said Ragnor.

“W-what else was I supposed to do? You two ignored me, so I had to keep myself entertained somehow,” said Magnus and pouted cutely, giggling again and Ragnor just shook his head. That was so Magnus - blaming someone else for getting drunk and he just snorted and then took in a deep breath.  _ Yeah, it wasn’t anything that he wasn’t used to.  _ What made him wonder what was the real reason for him getting drunk - Magnus usually had a real reason to be drunk, not just boredom. It was something else and Ragnor was starting to sense that something might had been wrong for  _ real.  _

“You sure it’s just that?” asked Ragnor seriously.

“Yep, that’s all,” said Magnus and shook his head, slurring his speech and Alec didn’t know what to do. The drunken state of Magnus was adorable, but at the same time Ragnor looked worried, so he was worried as well. “Alec, look-look at those wrinkles,” said Magnus and then pulled the skin between Ragnor’s eyebrows up and shook his head. “He’s frowning way too much. Moral of the story is to not frown, don’t ruin your precious pretty face with frowning, Alec,” said Magnus and then giggled again. 

Alec’s eyes widened - pretty face? Alec flushed again and then quickly shook his head. No, no, it wasn’t like this. Magnus was drunk, he didn’t even know what he was saying. That was all, though Alec wished that there could be more to it than just that. But, well, it was nice to fantasise about it, but the real thing was probably anything but that and it was kind of sad. Still. It made him smile. “Okay, moral of the story is to never frown,” said Alec and Magnus happily nodded.

“That’s it!”

“Don’t encourage him, Alec,” whined Ragnor because Magnus looked way too pleased with himself than he should have been. Alec stopped laughing, but he then looked again at Magnus, who was happily smiling and he couldn’t not smile. Magnus was too precious and he loved it so much. 

“Alec, Ragnor is old and he is a party pooper, it’s okay, let’s have fun,” said Magnus and Alec chuckled. Ragnor’s face turned red - apparently he really didn’t like being called  _ old.  _ Alec started laughing because it was kind of hilarious. Also… what kind of fun did Magnus have in his mind?! Alec had so many possibilities running through his mind and he just swallowed. 

Fuck.

“You take that back, I’m not old,” said Ragnor.

“He is though,” said Magnus, giggling at his own joke and Ragnor just rolled his eyes and then bit his lip. Knowing Magnus’ patterns of getting drunk it went down something like this. Stage one was Magnus being all giggly and bubbly, then he got whiny and in the end he crashed and finally stopped. “I’m also getting old,” yelped Magnus.  _ Or it was the opposite and he got really emotional. _

“You’re not old,” said Alec softly. “Only three years older than me and-”

“Exactly,  _ older _ , you see my point. Three whole years. Three,” hiccuped Magnus and shook his head. “And what have I achieved in my life, huh?!”

“Oh, not this again,” said Ragnor under his breath. 

“Magnus, you wrote nine amazing books and your tenth one is coming out in a few months,” said Alec, trying to be encouraging and Magnus just glanced down.  _ Amazing, yeah right.  _ Why was Alec lying to him?

“W-why is that when I put like the smallest amount of effort my book sells like butter, but-but when I work on something that means everything to me and I-I spend months and months working on it nobody cares?” whined Magnus and looked at Ragnor. 

“Magnus, don’t do this to yourself,” said Ragnor quickly. Alec didn’t know what was going on or why the mood has changed so suddenly and he just shook his head, biting into his lip because he didn’t like the sound of Magnus’ voice - it was so full of regret and pain. Maybe he said something wrong before? He didn’t get it and he just wanted to make things okay again, feeling terrible about it.

“And-and you don’t care for the sales, but you still want to have some sort of communication with your readers, so you organise a meet up and nobody shows up,” stuttered Magnus. “Nobody. Not even a single soul. And then it crushes you,” said Magnus and then just went completely silent and bit his lip. Well, so much for his suppressing things. It didn’t work and the beer completely untied his tongue, Alec’s eyes widening because he didn’t… that was something that happened to Magnus, wasn’t it? 

“Magnus, I’m so so-”

“It’s enough,” said Ragnor in the end and Alec narrowed his eyes. He didn’t appreciate being cut off like that and Magnus didn’t really say much after that as he was just sitting there. He was drinking to forget, yet it all came out and he was just sitting there and feeling almost numb. Sighing, he just watched how Ragnor took away all of the beer from him, putting the empty cans into trash and he then just shook his head because he could see that Magnus was a mess. “Come on, I’ll go get you to-”

“I’m fine,” said Magnus and noticed that Ragnor was checking up on time from here and there and he smiled. Ragnor had places to be at and he just gave him a little wink. “Ragnor, I know about the dinner with the writer you’ve been after for months, it’s okay, you can go and I’ll be okay,” said Magnus.

“No, he can wait, you’re my friend and-”

“Alec is here,” said Magnus and Alec quickly perked up. “You’re leaving me in good hands,” said Magnus and winked. Alec nodded and Ragnor hummed, but then in the end he decided that Magnus had a point. He didn’t quite want to leave, but he was there for quite a while and he promised that he’d call him immediately after the dinner. Or if he prefered, he would come back to his place and stay with him. 

And when they were finally alone, Alec tried to take care of the pizza boxes that were lying around the couch and also wanted to bring Magnus a glass of water. “I’ll go get you something to drink,” said Alec but before he could leave for kitchen, he felt Magnus’ hand gently reaching out to him and holding him by the sleeve of his shirt, pulling him back a little bit.

“Stay.”

“Huh?”

“Stay here with me instead,” said Magnus and Alec wanted to tell him that he’d be gone for two minutes tops, but when he looked into Magnus’ eyes that were begging him to stay, Alec couldn’t just leave him. He sat down next to him and Alec’s eyes widened for the second time when Magnus reached out with his hands and pulled Alec in for a hug. The only thing Alec could do was to hug Magnus back as he could tell that he really needed that hug. 


	8. Chapter 8

“Stay here with me instead,” whispered Magnus and pulled Alec in for a hug, who bit his lips together and despite his racy heart hugged the other one back. When Magnus felt Alec’s strong arms around him, he smiled a little bit and he nuzzled into Alec’s shoulder, taking in a deep breath and he clinged onto his a little bit tighter. A hug was what he needed and he didn’t want to let go because right there in Alec’s arms he felt safe and sound, gulping a little bit and he closed his eyes. Alec smelled so nice, he needed to ask him what kind of a cologne he was using. It was lovely and it made Magnus want to lean up and place a kiss upon the other’s lips. Still, he knew that it wasn’t right and he just decided to enjoy the hug while it lasted.

Alec was trying to remind himself that he shouldn’t get swept up by the moment, but it was hard. He could feel Magnus’ hot breath against his neck and he just shook his head and then remembered that Magnus wasn’t in a very good place - would he maybe want to talk about it? It was clear that what he said before was about him and it saddened him - did it still mean that there was a possibility that he was a Prince of Edom? The chances of that actually happening were slim and he didn’t want to trigger Magnus too much about it because he could tell how much it meant to him and how much he was still upset.

“Um,” said Alec, his voice deep and Magnus forced himself to open his eyes, but he didn’t break the hug. Not yet, he wanted to stay in Alec’s arms forever and he just hiccuped softly and Magnus felt Alec’s hand drawing little circles against his back and he could feel that Magnus was slowly relaxing in his arms and he smiled softly because that was good - he didn’t want Magnus to feel too sad about the whole thing. “It’s okay, Magnus,” muttered Alec and Magnus stiffened a little bit. “You’re an amazing author,” said Alec. “People love your work,” he said and Magnus felt very emotional.

Magnus didn’t even know why he was getting so emotional. He knew that people loved his romance novels, that much was clear and of course he loved all the attention that he got. His fans were supportive and always leaving such lovely feedback - he loved them very much, but writing romance novels was just… it was okay, but he wanted more. There was so much more that he wanted to write, but he was just too afraid to do it. What was there to be afraid of, though? Failure, again, he didn’t fail again and he just sniffled softly. Hearing Alec say that made him truly emotional and there were tears in his eyes.

“You’re just saying that,” said Magnus, hiccuping and Alec shook his head.

“No, I’m not, I mean it,” said Alec and Magnus shook his head because he still didn’t want it to get into his head.

“You don’t even like romance novels,” muttered Magnus and pouted. Alec took in a deep breath and then slowly parted, breaking their hug and Magnus whined - he didn’t want the hug to end. Alec was trying not to shake too much, but that hug had a huge impact on him and it was kind of hard to focus on  _ serious _ things, but he wanted Magnus to know how much he liked his writing. Even if he wasn’t Prince of Edom - the book that he read made him feel amazing, he loved it. 

“I like your romance novels,” said Alec seriously and Magnus rolled his eyes. “No, no, I mean it, I’m not making fun, I mean it,” said Alec and Magnus glanced over at him, angrily wiping away the tears and he didn’t even want to think how he looked at the moment. His make up was probably ruined and he couldn’t believe that he had just shown such an uncool image of himself to Alec. “Romance novels in general suck, yes, I didn’t change my opinion of those, but,” he said and Magnus was now listening to him very carefully. “Yours are different. It’s your writing style, it’s just so unique and I love it. It’s… I don’t know how to explain it, but it makes me feel all warm inside. When I read the book that you lent to me, it was just lik coming back home. It made me feel safe and it just… gave me hope,” said Alec and Magnus sniffled softly and was teary-eyed again.

“Really?”

“Yes, really,” said Alec and all that he wanted to do was to place his hand upon Magnus’ cheek and pull him in for a kiss, but he didn’t. Magnus was intoxicated, also, he was still too scared to actually do it. He placed his hand on top of Magnus’ shoulder instead and gave him a little smile. “I loved it,” he said and then chewed on his lip. “So don’t bring yourself down, you’re an amazing author,” said Alec and gave him a little wink. “I mean the sales speak for themselves, no?”

“Yeah, but that’s because romance and sex sells,” said Magnus and Alec shook his head.

“People read you because they love the way you write your characters in the stories. You give them depth, you give them just so much to work with and it’s amazing,” said Alec and then flushed a little bit.  _ There’s the sex aspect of it, too, which Alec began to like, but only if it was in Magnus’ novels.  _ Because the way Magnus wrote them were hot, yes, but also there were so many feelings included in them that it was just… amazing. “A-also,” said Alec and Magnus looked at him. “T-the adult aspect of it all it’s very well written and-and, um, hot,” said Alec and Magnus was in awe.

Was he again just trying to make him smile? Well, it worked and he finally cracked a smile and then sighed. “Ah, so you aren’t as prudish as I thought,” said Magnus and Alec flushed. “What happened?”

Alec wanted to indeed make him smile and despite the flush upon his cheeks, he didn’t back away and he just laughed. “Your novel showed me the ways, it enlightened me,” said Alec and Magnus’ eyes widened because if he understood it correctly that meant that Alec actually-

“ _ Oh. _ ”

“Yes, a big oh,” said Alec and Magnus’ eyes travelled up and down and he laughed.

“How big?” asked Magnus in amusement and then quickly bit his lip because he knew that he was pushing it. Alec still didn’t really exactly know if he was… or did he? Alec started laughing when Magnus asked that question because it was hilarious and he just shook his head and then placed his hands down, clasping them together in his lap and he just huffed under his breath.

“A-and reading your novel,” said Alec and his heart was again thumping fast. but he wanted to tell Magnus. It felt right and he was afraid if he wouldn’t tell him now then he would never find the courage again. Also he was kind of… he was going to burst if he wasn’t going to tell someone that exact moment and Magnus was the only one that he felt comfortable telling. “William and Richard being so happy together, it made me want the same as them,” said Alec and Magnus nodded, now getting serious again and he didn’t grin or smile anymore, he was just listening carefully. He knew how scary it could have been, he was there. “With-with a man, I want that kind of a happiness in my future as well,” said Alec and Magnus gave him finally a smile, but it was different kind of a smile.

“Yeah?” asked Magnus and then clicked with his tongue, swallowing back another wave of tears again and he then looked down. “That cheesy story got you to realise all of that?” asked Magnus and placed his hand over his chest and then bit into his lower lip and Alec smiled, nodding. His heart was pounding in his chest, this was the first time he finally said it out loud and he felt… free. It felt nice telling someone and he knew that Magnus of all people wasn’t going to judge him. That was why he felt the safest telling him.

“Yes,” said Alec and Magnus sniffled. “And I bet I’m not the only one who thinks like this, come on,” said Alec and then gave him a little smile and Magnus sniffled and then nodded. Yes, he had a point, he knew all of that, but what about the other… things that he has written? Nobody liked those. Nobody. Because they were stupid and childish. Magnus didn’t really want to talk about  _ that, _ so he decided to let it go. 

“Aw,” said Magnus and then smiled through his tears and puffed his cheeks. “Yeah, you’re right, I-I am being too hard on myself and I’m… drunk,” he said and shook his head, the smile on his lips getting wider because Alec telling him that his work helped him out like this just made him feel so… it made him feel that his current work also helped people and it wasn’t just shallow romance novels. He never took them to be shallow, but well… he knew how others could see the authors to be like. And he was glad to see that Alec’s opinion has changed; or was in the process of changing.

“Yeah, you should lay down, probably,” said Alec and then rubbed the back of his neck. “And you also need to drink a lot. If you don’t drink you’ll feel like shit tomorrow. I know from personal experience,” said Alec and Magnus found it cute how he was explaining it to him, giggling and he nodded eventually. 

“You’re right,” said Magnus and then stood up, Alec helping him onto his legs and he wrapped his arm around Magnus’ waist and he slowly helped him to get over to his bedroom and then slowly sat Magnus down, the other smiling because Alec was really caring. Truly an amazing friend. “I’m proud of you,” whispered Magnus suddenly and Alec glanced down at him. “See? You got it all figured out in the end,” he said and gave him a little wink. Alec flushed and then nodded.

“Yeah, suppose now I just need the courage to tell other people?”

“You’ve got plenty of courage, Alec,” said Magnus softly and Alec’s heart skipped a beat. Magnus’ eyes widened when he finally realised what Alec told him.  _ He was the first person that Alec told about that and his heart was beating much faster.  _ Magnus decided not to make a comment on that, but it just added on to how happy that actually made him; that the novel had such a strong impact on Alec. That had to be it, right? They didn’t know each other all that well yet and he was the first person that Alec felt comfortable telling. That spoke volumes and Magnus was just smiling. “And about telling the others, don’t feel pressured. Do it on your own accord,” he said and Alec just sighed. 

Magnus was so understanding and amazing. “Right,” said Alec in the end and then finally leaned up and cleared his throat. Magnus smiled and then plopped down onto the bed. I will bring you a glass of water,” he said and Magnus gave him another nod and then happily sighed.  _ Wait, did that mean that Alec was then going to be leaving?  _ Magnus panicked and he quickly leaned up again, feeling a little bit sick in his tummy, but still he needed to know if he was-

“You’re gonna stay with me, right? You’re not gonna leave?” asked Magnus and Alec gulped. Well, he needed to get going home or he would never hear the end of it from Jace, but at the same time Jace was old enough to mind his own business and he also couldn’t just leave Magnus like this. He needed to make sure that he was okay afterwards and he just huffed under his breath. He had his classes quite early into the day, but Magnus’ place was quite close to them so it didn’t really matter and he just-

“Of course, I wasn’t planning on leaving,” said Alec and Magnus happily giggled.

“Yay!” he said and Alec gave him a little smile. 

Being by Magnus’ side, that was all that he wanted to do!

* * *

Alec was in Magnus’ kitchen and was trying to think of preparing something for Magnus’ breakfast when he heard rumbling sounds from the bedroom and he perked up, quickly dropping the things that he was holding and he hurried over to Magnus to see how he was doing. Magnus, who was now sitting on his bed, was feeling kind disoriented and he didn’t know where he really was or what was going on around him. He could smell fresh coffee being brewed in the kitchen, but he didn’t get who made it and he narrowed his eyes, feeling a headache coming up and he quickly held his head.

“Ouch,” whined Magnus and then narrowed his eyes. Was Ragnor there? He did say that he was going to come back after the meeting with the writer, but then he also remembered that Alec was staying over and he just… buried his face into the pillow, cursing himself. He remembered  _ everything _ as he didn’t have all that much to drink, but still enough for the slight hungover to be there and he just whined because he was… in his whiny and clingy state again and if Alec truly did  _ stay _ like he begged him to, he was just… ugh. Why would he get like that? Magnus didn’t like it, at all!

But apart from that - Magnus could also remember opening up a little bit about his past and he smiled just a little bit because Alec’s words meant so much to him, really. It meant so much to him because if Alec told him that he loved his writing despite him disliking romance novels, then he truly meant it. Biting into his lip, Magnus rolled onto his side and then pressed up against the pillow and he took in a deep breath. Alec was so amazing, he listened to him when he most needed someone. And that hug, oh, that hug. It was the most amazing hug Magnus had received in a long time and he just huffed under his breath. 

What about Ragnor?

Magnus rolled onto his other side to check up on his phone and he saw that he had a few texts from Ragnor, telling him that he wouldn’t make it back to him, but also asking him if he was okay. And there were a few more missed calls, smiling a little bit and then he decided to send him back a little short text, telling him that he was okay as he didn’t want to worry his friend so much and he just laid onto his back and then groaned, his head hurting and he groaned. He would have to get up and get over to the bathroom, but he really didn’t feel like it. He didn’t want to do anything that day.

He almost forgot about someone being in his apartment until the door of his room opened and he shrieked, Alec shrieking as well as Magnus’ reaction caught him off guard and Alec then smiled. “Ah, don’t worry, it’s just me,” said Alec happily and then opened the door wider. “Sorry, you asked me to stay, so I… well, stayed,” said Alec and Magnus whined again and then shook his head.

“I’m so sorry,” said Magnus. “How much did I even have? I can’t really remember,” said Magnus, trying to make it as a joke and Alec smiled and then took in a deep breath.

“Well, you had about three cans of beer,” said Alec and Magnus flushed immediately.  _ Only three and he was reduced into an emotional and whiny mess?  _ How amazing. Magnus rolled his eyes and Alec felt his heart dropping a little bit. Magnus didn’t remember how much he had to drink? Three cans weren’t really that much, but he also didn’t know how much of a big drinker Magnus was, so… if he didn’t remember that, maybe he didn’t remember other things that happened between them?

Alec telling him how much he loved his works, how much he actually appreciated him? Alec wasn’t really good with words, but he was super proud of how much he was able to pull through the day before and tell Magnus how much he appreciated his work. And… what bothered Alec the most was Magnus forgetting him coming out to him. Alec felt a little bit worried and his heart was beating much faster. No, he didn’t want Magnus to forget that. Maybe it was selfish of Alec for wanting Magnus to remember, but it meant a lot to him and he just-

“I didn’t have all that much,” whined Magnus and then shook his head. “I’m not usually like this, but it’s just been a while,” he said, laughing, but he also noticed that Alec wasn't laughing along with him and he cocked his head to the side. 

“Um,” said Alec and then chewed on his lip. “You don’t remember much about the last evening?” asked Alec. “I-I mean if you forgot or something like this,” he stammered Alec and then his voiced kind of trailed off and Magnus looked over to him. He knew what he was talking about and he quickly shook his head because he didn’t want Alec to think that he forgot something like that. Not Alec coming out to him, not that. Never.

“I didn’t, I remember everything,” said Magnus softly and Alec sighed in relief.

“G-good, that is um, yeah, very good,” said Alec and Magnus gave him a little smile. Still, it made Alec wonder what Magnus was talking about the last day. About nobody showing up to his meet and his books not really selling - was it the Prince of Edom? Still, he didn’t want to think too much of it, but if Magnus would turn out to be the Prince of Edom, Alec would buy an engagement ring and propose to Magnus immediately.  _ Yeah, he loved Prince of Edom so much back in the day and all these feelings that he had for Magnus, it was just… _

“Yeah,” said Magnus. “Sorry for making you stay though, I have the tendency to be very whiny and clingy when I have too many drinks,” said Magnus and Alec shook his head.

“It’s okay,” said Alec. “Also I wouldn’t have left even if you wouldn’t have asked me,” said Alec and then smiled a little bit. “I would’ve been too worried to leave,” he then said and Magnus felt his own cheeks heating up.

“Y-yeah? I mean it’s not like I drank a lot,” mumbled Magnus and tried to play it off as cool, as if it was nothing, but it meant so much to him and Alec just smiled and nodded. “I mean why would you have been worried?” asked Magnus, and tried to be all causal. Alec snorted and then he narrowed his eyes.

“Well you were really upset and we are friends, right?” asked Alec and Magnus.

“Right, right, right… friends, I got you,” said Magnus and Alec narrowed his eyes - he was acting kind of weird. They were friends, Magnus said so himself, so why was he being so… weird about it? Alec decided not to think of it too much and he just smiled and then clasped his hands together.

“Well, if you want, I will make you something to eat for breakfast?” asked Alec and Magnus whined because his stomach didn’t agree. But he wanted to try out Alec’s cooking and he rubbed his neck. “Just to get a few bites, it’s okay,” he said and Magnus nodded. That sounded amazing. Magnus hissed as he glanced towards the window, sun shining brightly and Alec chuckled. “And maybe something to tackle that headache?”

Magnus nodded and then happily smiled. Alec was so amazing. “Yes, please,” said Magnus and Alec quickly nodded. “How long are you staying for?” asked Magnus, his voice kind of hopeful and Alec popped again inside of the room and he hummed.

“Well, my classes are about to start in couple of hours,” said Alec and Magnus nodded. “But I’m not gonna go. I will stay here with you, I need to make sure you’re okay,” said Alec and Magnus shook his head.

“No, no, education is important,” said Magnus. “You will not be skipping classes because of me,” he said and Alec chuckled. “I’m okay, really,” said Magnus and Alec hummed. But there was still that whole thing about the books that didn’t sell well and he was just… “That was just the alcohol speaking yesterday so-”

“No it wasn’t,” said Alec and Magnus sighed and then smiled. He couldn’t fool Alec even if he tried, could he? 

“No, it wasn’t, but,” said Magnus. “I’m really not in the mood to talk about it now, okay? I’m okay - now - I am okay,” said Magnus and wasn’t really even lying. He was okay, letting it all out yesterday like that helped and he was thankful both to Ragnor and Alec that they were there for him.

“Okay,” said Alec but still wasn’t too sure about it. “I will go to classes, but I’ll be back soon after, okay?”

“Sure your roommate isn’t going to miss you?”

“Oh, Jace? He’s probably glad I’m not there, he can invite his book club back over to our place,” said Alec and was cracking up. Magnus arched his brow and he hummed.

“Oh, he has his book club? Really? Interesting, can I joi-”

“Oh, no, no, it’s not really,” said Alec in between his laughter. “He hates reading, but he calls his… long story. He’s just busy with his girlfriend - that’s all,” said Alec and Magnus started laughing because now Alec’s reaction made sense. 

“Okay then, I will be waiting then,” said Magnus and winked. Alec flushed all the way up to his ears and he quickly left the scene, going into the kitchen where he made something for Mangus before going off to classes. Magnus, on the other hand, was just face-palming himself.

_ What was that? What was even that wink?! _

Ugh!

He hadn’t felt this embarrassed in a long time!

But his smile grew as he was listening to the rambling sounds from the kitchen - he could get used to this, having Alec around so much. 


	9. Chapter 9

Alec was visiting his parents that day - one of the reasons for dropping by his old home was to pick up the Prince of Edom books as he had a sudden urge to re-read them again and the other part, of course, was to spend some time with his parents and his little brother. It’s been kind of a while that he dropped by their place as he was pretty busy with university, not to mention now that he was going over to Magnus’ every day, he practically didn’t have any free time and he didn’t really mind it. But still, it felt good to be finally coming back home after such a long time and as soon as he knocked onto the door, he was greeted by his little brother, who was waiting for him already at the door. Alec did call his mother and told her that he was coming and Max overheard them talking, so he got very excited. Alec was quite an idol for him and Alec just smiled when he saw his little brother. He was growing up fast! He was just eight, but he was getting taller and taller!

“Hey, Maxie,” said Alec and gently ruffled Max’s hair, who quickly stepped back and started fixing it. Alec arched his brow and titled his head to the side. “Is something the matter?” asked Alec and Max shook his head. It wasn’t that, but he spent an hour before styling his hair. He got that after Jace, who would spend a lot of time and money on hair products, styling them and always made Alec laugh. But it also made him very annoyed as he didn’t really have the place for his own products over in the bathroom. Yeah, living with Jace was really an experience that he was never going to forget.

“All is okay, I just have a new hairstyle,” said Max and Alec chuckled, but still picked Max up and carried him over to the living room. He could tell that Max has really grown out of that and he quickly placed him down, Max just happily smiling because it was nice to have his big brother to visit him after such a long time. “Did dad tell you? I have a new room,” said Max happily and Alec arched his brow.

“Oh, yeah?” asked Alec and then cocked his head to the side because he didn’t hear anything about it from his parents. “What happened to your old one?” asked Alec curiously and Max happily grinned.

“Mom has her new office in there and it got too small for me,” said Max and Alec chuckled. Ah, yes, he was a young man now, he was needing a bigger place, did he? “And now I am staying in your room. I mean it’s my room now, but where you used to have your room,” explained Max and Alec happily nodded. He kind of figured that Max was going to take up his room after he’d grow up a little bit and he was happy that that was the case. “It’s so cool,” he said and Alec chuckled.

“I know, right? Much better than Jace’s, right?” asked Alec and Max stuck out his tongue.

“Yes, Jace’s room is too full of weird posters,” said Max and Alec started laughing. Yeah, weird posters of cars and football players, it was kind of hilarious. 

“And where are mom and dad?” asked Alec then and Max pointed over to the kitchen.

“They’re in the kitchen, cooking us all a lunch,” said Max happily and Alec followed Max into the kitchen because he really wanted to see his parents. He smiled all the way up to his ears when he saw his parents - his father was setting up the table, Maryse was mixing something over the stove and he leaned up against the door frame. Stepping into the kitchen like this made him remember of his childhood so much and just for a little moment it made him seem like not much has changed. He felt like he was still living at home and he sighed happily. Ah, yes, nostalgia was really there and as soon as he cleared his throat, his parents looked to his way and they both smiled.

“Alec, you’re finally here,” said Maryse happily and quickly dropped what she was doing, turned off the stove as the lunch was already cooked, she was just keeping it hot for when Alec was going to come. She then quickly stepped over to him and wrapped her arms around him, giving him a little hug and Alec smiled again, giving her the hug back and he just giggled.

“Hi, mom, dad,” he said as Robert stepped over to him and gently bumped his shoulder. Ah, yes, his father didn’t really do the whole hugging thing and Alec just chuckled and then took in a deep breath. 

“Son, we’ve been waiting,” said Robert and then placed his hands on top of his sides and shook his head. “You should really come by more often, Jace comes by every week,” he said and Alec just shrugged it off. He didn’t know why, but it was also kind of hard to come back? It felt as if he was being burdened by something and now he knew what it was. It was the huge secret that he wasn’t telling him, one that he only told Magnus about it and it was making things difficult for him. As much as it was nice to be back, it also made him remember the times that he struggled with accepting who he was. 

So, yes, that was why he was kind of avoiding, but he still felt bad about it because he knew that they missed him, especially Max. “Yes, Jace is here every week. Sometimes almost every day,” grumbled Max and Alec started laughing because it seemed that his little brother wasn’t all that amused? “All he does is talk about his book club and I’m starting to speculate that it isn’t a real book club,” he said and narrowed his eyes. 

Maryse and Alec started laughing and he just shook his head. Robert face-palmed himself and then grumbled something under his breath, but Alec couldn’t really make out what it was. “Now, honey, you know we’re always happy to have Jace drop by,” said Maryse as she stepped over to her youngest son and she then just gently ruffled Max’s hair. Max shrieked and quickly backed away.

“Mom, I told you - not the hair,” he said and then crossed his arms on top of his chest. Maryse chuckled and then looked over at Alec, who was now watching Max run off to the bathroom, where there was a huge mirror and Alec could just hear the boy groaning and he shook his head.

“So, he’s still on about the hair, huh?”

“Yeah,” said Maryse and shook her head. “It’s just a phase, he’ll grow out of it eventually,” she said and Alec grinned, but then he thought of Jace and he snorted a little bit. Some grew out of it, some didn’t.

“Let’s hope so, I mean Jace never did,” said Alec and Maryse started laughing.

“You are quite right about that,” she said and shook her head.

“Laugh you two all you want, but you should let them experiment with their hair while still have it, or it’ll be too late,” whined Robert next to Maryse and Alec and Alec glanced over to his father, who had his hands over his head and he shook his head. Robert sighed and Maryse just shook her head and gave Alec a little wink. 

“Now, darling, it’s okay,” said Maryse and Robert just nodded. “Alec, be a sweetie and help your father with setting up the table? I’ll serve the food in the meantime,” she said and Alec quickly nodded, hurrying over to his father and he felt excitement flowing through his body. It was good to be back after all and this time it felt kind of different. Maybe because he told someone about what was on his mind or maybe because he was finally done fighting it and was slowly accepting himself.

Whatever it was - he liked the change.

* * *

“So, Isabelle had mentioned that you have a job,” said Robert happily and Alec perked up and then narrowed his eyes.  _ Izzy did that?  _ Oh, it was probably after he told her about him being an editor of some sorts. Alec just nervously laughed and then nodded. Maryse happily smiled and then sighed happily. “An editor, it does sound like an amazing job, huh?” asked Robert and Alec just bit his lip. He didn’t mean to lie too much, but at the same time he also didn’t want to tell the full truth? If he told his dad that he was working for free, he would get pissed off. 

Robert wasn’t a materialistic person, but he was also very… well, success meant a lot to him and one of the signs of success was the amount of earned money to him, which did make sense, but it also put Alec under pressure. “Um, yes, it’s quite good, yeah,” said Alec and Maryse smiled.

“We’re so proud of you,” said Maryse and Alec smiled.

“How did you manage to get it? I mean you’re still very much a student and it’s quite unlike that a writer would-”

“Y-yeah, it’s like, well,” said Alec and then chewed on his lip. “I told Izzy that the job is kind of like being an editor? I’m working with a writer, but I don’t… it’s more to gain experience than anything else,” he muttered and then looked over at Robert, who was processing the whole thing. Earn experience instead of earning money? Robert was processing and processing and-

“Oh, that’s smart,” said Robert. “I think it’s good to get some experiences. Make sure your boss does write you a letter of recommendation for your future,” said Robert and Alec felt relieved - huh, that went well? He did sort of tell the whole truth, he was gaining experiences when he was working with Mangus like this. He also had a long chat with Ragnor the other day and asked him about how the whole work of an editor went. It was very interesting and educational. 

“Is it a famous writer?” asked Max suddenly because he was interested. Just like Alec, he was also a big fan of reading, just instead of books he was reading Japanese manga - they were just so much fun and Alec gave him a little smile and then he hummed. He doubted that his parents knew about M. A. Matthews? “What do they write? Something exciting, something-”

“Romance novels,” said Alec in the end and his brother wrinkled his nose.

“Ew,” he said and Alec chuckled and then looked over at his parents, who were proudly looking at him. Alec continued eating the lunch happily, remembering one of the reasons why he was there and he then glanced at his parents. If his brother was in his old room now that meant that they had to move his things out, right? And among those were also his old and precious books. Gosh, he hoped that they didn’t sell them off in a garage sale or something like that because that would have been truly a disaster.

“Mom?”

“Yes, honey?”

“If Max is in my old room then, did you save up some of my things?” asked Alec and Maryse nodded. 

“Of course, we moved everything up to the attic. Most of it, at least. I donated some of your old clothes,” she said and Alec smiled and sighed in relief. That meant that his books were still there and he then chewed on his lip. 

“Oh, good. So my Prince of Edom books are still here, yeah?” asked Alec and both Maryse and Robert chuckled because  _ of course they were still there.  _ They wouldn’t dare to even touch them. They were safely tucked away up in the attic, making sure that nothing would happen to those. Alec was always attached to those, ever since he was in highschool. For a moment all that he could talk about was this Prince writer and it was kind of hilarious and adorable. If Maryse wouldn’t know any better, she’d think that her son had a crush on him.

“Of course they are, those are sacred, we wouldn’t ever get rid of those,” said Robert and Alec flushed a little bit and he then glanced away. 

“Good,” said Alec happily. “I’ll bring them to my place. I’ve been kind of… wanting to re-read them again,” said Alec and his parents just nodded, giving him a little smile and Alec puffed his cheeks. Yes, well… everyone knew how obsessed he was with the Prince at the time and he was getting giddy all over again when he finally had the books in his arms and was slowly returning back to his apartment, happily whistling - he was going to read his favourite books again!

He was beyond excited!

* * *

“You know, I do like where you’re taking this,” commented Alec and Magnus arched his brow. He was again over at his place and the two of them were getting some more writing done - after all, the deadline was coming and the two of them really needed to get back on track. During the last few meetings not a lot of writing was being done, but that day they were pretty productive - the book was slowly coming up to an end and Alec liked how things were slowly wrapping up and he was just smiling, humming as he was reading through the very last few paragraphs and Magnus was just smiling. Alec was very kind lately about his writing. It wasn’t just because of that little breakdown that he had the other day? It wasn’t like Magnus to be getting so self-conscious and he just huffed under his breath.

“You think so? You don’t think it’s a bit too bland? I mean they kind of resolved things immediately. I think that maybe I should add a little bit more of drama and, hmm, emotional turmoil,” said Magnus, rubbing the back of his neck and Alec glanced up and quickly shook his head. No, it was perfect the way that it was. It didn’t need anything more - adding more drama to it would make the plot too forced and exactly what made Alec dislike romance novels in the first place. Magnus’ were still the only ones that he was able to stomach and he just wrinkled his nose.

“No, you’ve already put them through enough,” said Alec, kind of joking, but Magnus could tell that he meant what he was saying. “I don’t know how your readers would feel about another conflict. I mean, I don’t know, I don’t want to dictate what you should or shouldn’t add to your works. It’s just my own personal view on it,” said Alec and Magnus just smiled in the end and nodded.

“I’ll take your word for it,” said Magnus and hummed. While he was waiting for Alec to come over that day, Magnus has been a little bit busy. Alec mentioned to him once or twice that he was running his own little book review blog online, so he decided to finally Google it - the curiosity got the best of him and he was quite entertained reading some of the reviews. Alec really didn’t hold back in his reviews and he just spoke what was on his mind. Luckily Alec didn’t review any of his books before, but it would be interesting to see what his opinion would be on his books before knowing him. 

And despite being ruthless in his book reviews, he definitely needed more readers. His posts didn’t really make a lot of engagement and Magnus was pouting when he was reading through of them. Alec really did go through a lot of good points and he was putting his education to a good use - he really did spot so many details that a common reader wouldn’t and it was really interesting. Of course Magnus disagreed with most of the things that were written it there because to him literature was an art and if someone didn’t like it it didn’t make it completely useless. Each piece of literature had a value to it, but it was interesting to read through what a literature student thought as a valuable literature. 

“By the way,” said Magnus and Alec looked towards him. “I checked out your book blog the other day,” said Magnus and Alec immediately flushed up and he bit his lip because…  _ those reviews were really rude and just a few weeks with Magnus completely changed him.  _ He was being way too subjective in his reviews. It was supposed to be an objective review, but when he thought about it a bit more he realised that he was projecting his own likes and dislikes when he was reading books. Sure, he supported his claims with subjective proofs, but those were also… like Magnus said, one couldn’t say what was good or bad literature. Yeah, it was funny how much he changed and his new opinion would for sure piss off quite a few of his professors. But he was glad that that Magnus changed his opinion on it because he was being too much of a dick in his reviews.

“Ah,” said Alec. “I’m so sorry you had to sit through those. I was being a dick there and I know that now,” said Alec and Magnus waved it off.

“Oh, I agree with you, I dislike with so many things that you wrote it there, but it’s also very interesting to see your point of view on things,” said Magnus and Alec shook his head. It wasn’t his opinion, it was the opinion of his professors that was being hammered into his head for three years straight, so it wasn’t really a wonder why his brain was completely washed. Magnus did have a point when he said that when they first meet. 

“Not really my opinions, but my professors’ and also I was being way too subjective in them,” said Alec and his cheeks were red. Magnus smiled and then nodded. “I mean I was claiming I was being completely objective and that I was speaking facts, but I was just projecting my own opinion of the book, which doesn’t go to say that isn’t valid, but I shouldn’t claim that I was being objective and professional,” said Alec and Magnus placed a hand over his chest.

“Oh, my, you’ve really changed,” said Magnus and winked.

“Thank Goodness,” said Alec and glanced down. 

“Still, I think you shouldn’t put yourself down,” said Magnus and Alec looked at him. “Even if it true what you just said, it’s amazing how much you were able to see in those books. I mean the details to everything, it’s really amazing,” he said and Alec’s cheeks flushed a little bit. “A lot of hard work had to go into it all, I mean you were quoting all sorts of people in those,” he said and then he shook his head. “For that much amount of work and paying attention to details you really deserve more recognition. Also the way you write - it’s definitely unique and very easy to read,” said Magnus. “Truly, maybe you should think into it a little bit more. Writing in your future, I think you would be quite an amazing writer yourself,” he said and Alec’s heart was just melting.

Magnus was giving him too many compliments and he didn’t know how to handle them. “T-thank you,” was all that Alec managed to say in the end. “Coming from you it means a lot to me,” said Alec and Magnus grinned and sighed happily as he leaned back against his usual chair and then arched tapped his lips with his finger.

“Would be interesting to see your review on one of my works,” said Magnus and Alec snorted.

“Yes, it would be very interesting to dive into it. Sadly, I don’t really have much time these days. Not because of  _ us _ ,” he said and Magnus smiled when Alec said  _ us.  _ “But because of classes. It’s just so much work. I mean I can hardly even find any time to read a book in my spare time,” he said and Magnus gave him a little chuckle. “But I did go to my parents today and I brought some of my favourite books back to my place. So, I will re-read some of them, for nostalgia sake,” said Alec and Magnus smiled.

“That’s always nice,” said Magnus and smiled. “How do it go - visit with your parents?” asked Magnus and Alec at first didn’t think of it too much, just shrugging. It was just a normal visit, but then he started to think…  _ why would Magnus ask him that?  _ Oh, maybe he thought that he came there to come out to them? Alec’s eyes widened a little bit and he felt his heart hammering against his ribcage. Should he do that? Come out? Alec didn’t know the rules, he was new to this and he just looked at Magnus.

“I didn’t… tell them yet,” said Alec painfully slowly and Magnus just nodded. “Should I have told them? I mean I-I don’t know if I’m ready yet, but like, I don’t know the rules you know? I don’t know the steps to-”

“Oh, Alec, I didn’t have this in mind,” said Magnus quickly and shook his head, Alec quickly settling down a little bit. He still had that scared look in his eyes. “I told you, didn’t I? You do it on your own terms,” he said and Alec chewed on his lip. “Yes? You can ask me anything,” said Magnus and gave Alec a little smile. 

“I mean I don’t even know… who should I tell first,” said Alec.

“Time will tell. Also you can ask who do you feel comfortable telling the first?” asked Magnus and Alec hummed. “Your roommate for example or-”

“Oh, no, no, Jace… no,” said Alec. But Izzy, on the other hand, he would be pretty cool with telling. Eventually. “But my sister,” he said and Magnus smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I suppose that’s cool. Step one and then I kind of just… go from there,” said Alec and Magnus took in a deep breath.

“Just like that,” said Magnus. “And remember that you should never feel pressured to come out,” said Magnus and Alec nodded. “And if someone is a dick about it, tell me and I will kick them,” said Magnus and Alec grinned and then huffed under his breath. He was so happy that Magnus was there for him, always so kind and accepting. And it was Magnus’ place where he was completely himself, he felt safe there to be himself. It was kind of-

“Thank you,” said Alec and then took in a deep breath and placed his hands together. “This place feels like heaven sometimes,” said Alec and Magnus felt his heart hammering against his ribcage. “I… what I mean is that I feel like I can be myself, you know? I don’t know… does it make any sense?” asked Alec and then bit his lip. It probably sounded stupid, Magnus’ smile widening and he just needed to remind himself not to get ahead of himself and he just gave him a little smile.

“You don’t have to thank me, really, it’s-”

“No, I do,” said Alec and then bit his lip. “It’s easy to talk to you. It’s kind of funny, sometimes I feel like I know you. Like talking to you will always make things okay,” said Alec and then nervously laughed. “Does, um, does it make any sense?”

Magnus was a mess because he just wanted to walk over there, wrap his arms around Alec and kiss him.  _ Oh, no, this was far deeper than just a little crush. Ragnor was right! Oh, no!  _ “It makes sense, I feel the same when I’m talking to you,” said Magnus and Alec just took in a deep breath and then chewed on his lip.

Yep. He needed to talk to Izzy because he needed advice and that was…  _ how do you ask out someone that you like?  _

Not like he would ever ask Magnus out because he was way out of his league, but… still…  _ how did one do it?!  _


	10. Chapter 10

“Iz, I need help,” said Alec and Izzy looked over to him. Alec was over Isabelle’s apartment as he really needed some help and he was just waiting nervously, trying to find a perfect timing that he could ask his sister about an advice - how to ask someone that you like out, but he was just so nervous that he just decided to blurt it all out and maybe Izzy wasn’t going to find it too weird. Izzy, who was pouring herself and her brother a little drink, arched her brow and just nodded, quickly turned around and gave Alec a little smile because she was always ready to help him. 

“Sure, shoot, what’s up?” asked Izzy and then sat down on the opposite side of Alec and handed him his glass of juice and Alec hummed and then rubbed the back of his neck, feeling his heart beating much faster and he then just chewed on his lip because he was just very nervous.  _ He hoped that Izzy wouldn’t be too suspicious or ask too many questions about who he was interested in.  _ He still wasn’t too sure if he was ready to actually come out to her. But he knew that she wouldn’t be judging him, she was the most open-minded person that he knew. Her and Magnus. 

Alec just smiled and then placed his hands together. “Well, you’re some sort of an expert on dating,” said Alec and Isabelle snorted - she was? Since when? Izzy didn’t really consider herself to be successful in dating, but she did know a thing or two, unlike for Alec, who still didn’t go out on a single date. Well, Jace did organise a blind date for him with a girl that he knew - Lydia when they were still in highschool, but it didn’t really end up well and since then Alec was just kind of never talking about it again.

“Um, okay?” asked Izzy and then she smiled widely. “Oh my God, did you find someone that you like?” asked Izzy and Alec shyly smiled and then slowly nodded. Oh, he did like Magnus a lot and Izzy’s smile widened because that really was the first time that Alec admitted to liking someone and she was just so happy that he came to  _ her _ for help. It made her happy and proud at the same time. “Oh, that’s so exciting,” said Izzy and Alec just rolled his eyes, but the smile on his lips remained and he just shook his head.

“I suppose, yes,” said Alec in the end. “B-but I need your help. I mean how do you ask someone out?” he asked and Izzy chuckled a little bit. “I tried so many times, but I just chicken out at the very last moment,” said Alec and then puffed his cheeks. “How do you do it, Iz?”

“Aw, you’re so adorable,” said Izzy and Alec folded his arms on top of his chest and shook his head. “Well, do you think that the person likes you back?” asked Izzy and Alec just shrugged because he didn’t know - how was he supposed to know that? He couldn’t tell at all if Magnus was into him. Sure they were friends, but he had no idea how did one tell if someone was into you.  _ Izzy was able to tell when someone was interested in her?  _ Oh, she must have had some super powers!

“I don’t possess such superpowers, sis,” said Alec seriously and Izzy started laughing.

“Oh, come on, it’s quite easy,” said Izzy and then rubbed her palms together. “It’s quite easy. You have to pay attention how the person looks at you,” said Izzy. “If they’re stealing glances at you when they think you’re not watching them. Or they laugh at every little joke that you make. You can also see them flushing when they’re watching you. I could go on and on, really, it’s quite easy,” said Izzy and Alec chewed on his lip. He wasn’t sure, Magnus did watch him a lot, but that could be just because…

“I don’t know, Iz,” said Alec and shook his head. “I’m a lost case,” said Alec and then pouted cutely.

“Okay, let’s not do that - don’t bring yourself down,” said Izzy and Alec nodded. “Who’s the person? Is he your classmate or someone that you met randomly?” asked Izzy, not really paying attention to what was coming out of her mouth and Alec was about to tell that Magnus wasn’t his classmate, but when he heard what pronoun Izzy used for asking him about the person that he liked, Alec froze up and he glanced over to Izzy. 

_ Did she know?  _

_ How did she know?  _

“I-I, um,” said Alec and then was just nervously twisting his fingers in his lap as he was getting more and more nervous. Izzy knew, didn’t she? How did she know? Did she read his diary? He only described those kind of feelings in his diary, but she wouldn’t do that, would she? Alec was just panicking and his panic was rising, clearing his throat. He wanted to correct her and say  _ she _ , but it didn’t feel right. Lying so obviously, he didn’t like it. “Why did you say that?”

Izzy didn’t get it at first because she just said it without thinking too much. She always paid attention what came out of her mouth because she didn’t want to upset Alec too much, but this time he was just too excited that Alec came over to her for help about his love life that she didn’t pay attention to what she said and she just frowned. “What did I say?” asked Izzy, truly confused and Alec just chewed on his lip. Maybe he heart it wrong, or maybe Izzy just said to wrong. It could be a coincidence and Alec wanted to brush it off, but at the same time he was just too curious and he knew that he wouldn’t be able to focus on anything else until he’d come to the bottom of this.

“You said  _ he _ ,” said Alec and Izzy’s eyes widened. “You asked me  _ who he is? _ ” asked Alec and then held in his breath, slowly watching Izzy’s reaction and she quickly glanced down and Alec’s heart was beating with the speed of light, scared as hell and he felt as if he was about to brust. He wanted to tell Izzy after all and he cleared his throat, feeling his fear growing because Izzy was now looking down and he didn’t know what to make out of it. “Why?” he whispered and Izzy looked at him.

“I’m sorry,” said Izzy and then shook her head. “I just assumed… I mean,” said Izzy and then made another pause. “It’s just always I had kind of a feeling that you might have been into guys,” muttered Izzy in the end and couldn’t believe that she was indeed so stupid that she let it slip out and he chewed on her lip. But maybe it was just hunch and it was wrong. After all, she didn’t know for sure, but it would explain a lot of things and she was just… “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it to upset you,” she said. “It’s just-”

“How did you know?” asked Alec painfully slowly and Izzy looked at him again - so it was true? The look in Alec’s eyes said it all, he looked pretty freaked out and Izzy huffed under her breath. “Did-did you read my diary?” asked Alec, his heart in his throat and the only thing that he could hear was the sound of his racing heart. Oh, it was racing and he was just so nervous, trying to calm himself down, but it wasn’t really working and he was just… trying to think of something else, but it wasn’t working out for the best and he just bit into his lip.

“No, I didn’t,” said Izzy quickly and shook her head. “I would never without your permission, it’s not what I do,” said Izzy and Alec nodded, feeling kind of bad for suddenly accusing her of doing such a thing, but at the same he was just so scared that he just thought of the worst things that were possible. “It’s just… in high school,” she said and Alec slowly nodded. “You were very good friends with Mark, remember?” asked Izzy and Alec’s heart started beating much faster. Of course he remembered, he was crushing on the guy like no tomorrow and he just swallowed thickly.

“Y-yeah, what about him?” asked Alec and then held in his breath.

“Well, I just had a feeling that you  _ liked _ him in that way,” said Izzy and then shook her head. She didn’t know if it was true or not, but she finally came clean to Alec because she was holding this back for quite a while now. And with everything that was going on, it would make a lot of sense, truly. “I’m sorry for making an assumption, I didn’t mean to put pressure on you, so I never asked or anything like that. I figured if you wanted to tell me, you’d come to me, but I did make sure to let you know that you can tell me everything,” she said and Alec nodded.

That was true, Izzy did tell him that quite a few times during high school times because she wasn’t the only one that saw that he was struggling with something. Everyone around him were able to tell, but he managed to figure it out all on his own in the end. Nothing ever happened between him and Mark of course. Not only that Alec was too scared to tell him, but Mark was also into women so Alec knew he’d be barking up the wrong tree. Still… he did have a crush on the guy and in the end Alec just took in a deep breath and eventually nodded.

“It’s true,” said Alec, his heart hammering, but he kind of figured that this would be a good time to tell Izzy. In a way he was kind of happy that she said that, it made things easier for Alec to bring up and Izzy just glanced over to him and blinked a few times and then clasped her hands together. “A-about everything,” he said and huffed under his breath, chewing on his lip and he then cleared his throat. “About Mark and-and me, well, being into guys,” he said and then bit his lip again and didn’t allow himself breathe, not until he would know what kind of reaction he would get from Izzy, who slowly nodded and then smiled, wrapping an arm around Alec’s shoulders and gently pulled him into kind of a half-hug and then gently ruffled his hair.

“It’s okay,” said Izzy and Alec looked at her and then puffed his cheeks. Yes? “Wish you told me about it sooner, it was killing me to see you like this all through high school. Was it because you were struggling with this?” asked Izzy slowly and Alec gave her a little nod. “Oh, Alec,” said Izzy and squeezed her older brother closer to her and Alec gave her a little smile.

“I was able to figure it out on my own after all. I’m sorry, I wish I was strong enough to tell you then, it would have been easier, but at the same time, I was just too scared,” said Alec and shook his head. “I needed my own pace, I know this now and well… all that matters is that I managed to work things out in the end,” said Alec and then just smiled. “All worked out in the end and now I’m slowly opening up to people about it,” he said. 

“I’m so proud of you, Alec,” said Izzy and smiled, Alec smiling as well and he felt amazing because telling about it to Izzy made him feel just so much better. It felt amazing, he felt himself and he felt like he didn’t have to hide himself anymore. It was truly a freeing feeling and he wished that he would soon be able to be like this with all people in his life. Not only that he was being truthful with them, but he didn’t have to be afraid all the time. 

“Thank you,” said Alec as he didn’t really know what kind of reply should he give and he then just took in another deep breath and smiled. “Ah, it feels great telling other people,” said Alec and then smiled. Izzy chuckled and then nodded again. “Just don’t tell others okay? I’m still not ready to tell Jace or mom and dad, I’ll tell them eventually, I’m just taking things slowly,” said Alec and Izzy smiled.

“Of course, my lips are sealed,” said Izzy and Alec sighed happily. “So,” said Izzy and Alec perked up. “You said that there’s a guy?” she asked and winked. Alec sheepishly smiled and nodded. 

“Yes, there’s someone,” said Alec and then made a little pause. “I know he’s into guys, but I don’t know if he would be into me like  _ that _ you know? Still, maybe I wanna try asking him out and see what happens. I’m still kind of nervous. I mean what do you do when you like someone?” asked Alec and Izzy chuckled.

“I told you before, no? I just pluck up the courage and ask them out,” said Izzy and Alec hummed.

“I’m not sure this will work for me. I need to make sure that they’re into me first,” said Alec and then shook his head. “I don’t… I don’t wanna make a fool out of myself,” said Alec and then bit his lip.

“Ask him?”

“Oh, that’s hard,” said Alec and Izzy smiled.

“Then pay attention to the signs I told you before,” said Izzy and winked. Alec hummed and then nodded. That did sound like a good plan, but he would have to be very observant as he didn’t really know if Magnus did all of those things. But then again, maybe he just had the tendency to look into people’s eyes when he was talking to them. Or… Alec really didn’t know and he just whined.

He wished it would be easier than that,

Ugh.

He really had zero knowledge about the love field.

It was dangerous!

* * *

Alec was a man with a plan, he was a man with a mission and that was to find out if Magnus liked him or not. And to get to that point he decided to meet up with Magnus in a more of a casual setting - he invited Magnus over. Jace wasn’t going to be home as he was meeting up with a girl named Clary again, so that gave Alec the time and the opportunity to invite Magnus over. He just hoped that Jace wouldn’t come home too early and ruin their…  _ date?  _ No, it wasn’t a date. It was just two friends hanging out! Alec needed to remind himself of that.

But, yes, that were the plans. To see if Magnus liked him or not. He couldn’t really tell when Magnus was in his element, so he needed to see him in more of a casual setting and because the two of them did a lot of writing the day before, Magnus decided that it was kind of a good idea to take a little bit of a break and sounded quite surprised over the phone when Alec invited him over. Alec thought that he maybe crossed the lines, but Magnus sounded very eager about coming over and it gave Alec his confidence back. Magnus was very happy to be coming over and he got everything ready.

Alec went out to buy some snacks, he also bought some drinks and he made sure that the apartment was tidy, which wasn’t really difficult. Jace was kind of a clean freak and everything was always in place, which was a good thing for this occasion. Alec made sure that all of his books were safely tucked either in his room or in the living room. He hoped that Magnus was going to acknowledge his collection of books. It wasn’t as nearly impressive as Magnus, but he was trying!

Would it be too much if he invited Magnus over to his room? Probably! But it was a shame, he had so much books in there. That was the only reason why he wanted Magnus in his room, no other weird reason! And the more that he thought about it, the more he was sure that inviting Magnus into his room would be creepy. Yep. So living room in the was. But apart from that, he didn’t have the slightest idea what he and Magnus would be doing. He didn’t think that far into his plan and with Magnus coming over in any minute, Alec was panicking.

He was walking around the living room, stressed as hell and he was just…  _ he felt so lame.  _ He didn’t have anything planned! Yes, they were hanging out, but he could have prepared something, right? Like a movie, or something like that. But then again, there was Netflix, so they could always watch a movie! Kind of like… Netflix and chill? Alec’s eyes widened when that thought crossed his mind and he just shook his head and he perked up when there was finally a knock at the door.

_ Magnus was there! _

“Oh, gosh,” said Alec, fussing over it again and he just rubbed his palms together and hurried over to the door again, quickly opening it and his heart made a little jump when he saw Magnus standing right there in front and he just bit into his lip and then cleared his throat. “H-hi,” finally stammered Alec and then bit his lip. “Um, welcome inside?” he asked and Magnus just gave him another smile and nodded, stepping inside and he looked around the place.

When Alec suddenly invited him over, Magnus was quite surprised, but in a very good way. He also thought that the two of them could take a little bit of a break because they’ve been on a roll for the last few days and because of that Magnus wanted to take a little bit of a break. But it would be such a shame if he didn’t spend some time with Alec, but luckily for him, Alec called him that day and invited him over, asking him if he would want to come over to just… hand out? It was kind of unexpected, but very welcome and Magnus was immediately up for it.

It was kind of boring to spend time all on his own, so he decided that going over to Alec’s would be amazing. He wanted to see where he lived, but most important of it all, was to spend more quality time with Alec and because they wouldn’t be really focusing on his book, they could be just chatting a little bit. They’ve been getting to know each other more and more and Magnus liked so far what he learned about Alec. But he wanted to know so much more and luckily, Alec was thinking the exact same thing… right?

Either way, Magnus was overjoyed that he was invited by Alec. “Hello, Alec,” said Magnus in the end and Alec smiled. He liked when Magnus said his name, he wondered how his full name would sound coming from his lips.  _ Oh, he needed to try it one time, tell Magnus his full name.  _ “Oh, this place is quite cosy,” he said and Alec happily nodded. Magnus was looking around as he followed Alec into the living room and he smiled when he saw that his friend had quite the collection of books as well. 

“It’s not much, but, well… Jace and I are trying to keep the place under control,” said Alec and Magnus smiled.

“Where’s the roommate by the way?” asked Magnus and then chuckled. “Book club, again?” he asked and Alec cracked up and he nodded.

“Yep, book club again it is, thank goodness. He won’t be bothering us,” said Alec and Magnus happily smiled. Good, he had Alec all for himself and he was smiling as he was looking around the room. “Um, please make yourself feel like home, I’ll go get us something to drink,” said Alec and Magnus nodded, sitting down onto the couch and he happily rubbed his palms together. This was going to be amazing, though he didn’t really know what to expect. 

Smiling, Alec quickly poured some  _ Mojito _ into two glasses - he went out and bought the cocktail. He didn’t know if it was any good, but well… that was the best that he could do. Magnus said that he liked cocktails on special occasions and this was a special occasion. Well, to Alec it was and he quickly returned back to Magnus, who was just curiously looking over to the books. 

“I see you have quite the collection of books as well,” said Magnus and Alec laughed nervously, offering the drink to Magnus, who happily hummed in agreement.  _ Lovely, he could always go for some Mojito.  _ Yummy and refreshing.

“Ah, well,” said Alec and then smiled. “It’s something, but I don’t have anywhere as much books as you do. Your collection is even more impressive,” said Alec, trying to study Magnus. Did he looked at him? Did he blush when he smiled? Did he…  _ yeah, he was moving too quickly, he needed to slow down and just take things easy! Nice and slow.  _ Yep. 

“You’ll get there one day,” said Magnus and winked.

_ Winking was a sign of flirting! _

Alec’s heart skipped a beat and he quickly gulped down some of the cocktail and then took in a deep breath. “I have actually some more books in my room,” said Alec, blurting it out and he flushed.  _ Why did he say that?  _ Oh, fuck! Now it sounded like he wanted to invite Magnus into his room. No, no, now Magnus was going to think that he was creepy!

Magnus arched his brow - that was very specific? 

“Oh, that’s nice, I mean it’s always good to have more books?”

“I realise how that sounds and I don’t wanna lure you into my room. That is  _ not _ what I have on my mind I am just nervous because I lik- because I’m just kind of, you know… I’m not used to hanging out with people and it’s just like this. Yes,” said Alec, stammering badly and he couldn’t believe that he almost said  _ because I like you.  _ Phew, that was fucking close! Magnus’ heart fastened for a split second because he thought that Alec was going to say that he liked him, but then he backed down and he pouted.

Magnus chuckled and then waved it off. “Alec, it’s fine,” said Magnus. “Hanging out one on one can be pretty stressful,” said Magnus and Alec nodded.

“Yes,” said Alec and then hummed. “A-and it’s Alexander, um, my full name,” said Alec and Magnus looked at him, kind of surprised by the sudden confession. “I mean if we are getting to know each other, you might as well know my first name fully, yes?”

“Yes,” said Magnus and smiled. It was adorable the way Alec said that and the name Alexander was just… yummy? “Alexander,” said Magnus and hummed. “It does suit you well,” said Magnus and smiled widely.  _ Alec could swear that he saw a flush! _

  1. Magnus winked
  2. Magnus was smiling a lot
  3. Magnus was flushing
  4. Alec.exe stopped working



Alec shook his head. Again - it was just his imagination. If only, though, right? Also Magnus calling him by his full name was dangerous. Alec was shaking and he just cleared his throat. He needed to do something or he was just going to-  _ fuck.  _ Magnus was very confused when Alec quickly stood up. “Alec?”

“Snacks!” said Alec quickly and marched towards the kitchen. “I forgot the snacks, I’ll be right back,” said Alec and ran towards the kitchen. While he was in there, he didn’t only prepare the snacks, but he also called Izzy.  _ Her steps weren’t working at all because if he went by her steps then Magnus was more than just crushing on him! And that couldn’t be right! _

Magnus smiled and then shook his head as he watched Alec. He was such an adorable dork and while he was waiting for Alec to come back from the kitchen - which was taking kind of a long time - he decided to keep himself company by going through Alec’s collection of books and he smiled. He was quite interested to see what he liked reading, cracking his knuckles as he inched closer to the books and he was smiling because he had quite a few of the same books. Alec was really a lot like him when it came to books. 

Interesting.

There were a lot of books that he didn’t real yet and he was going to ask Alec if he could borrow some of them as they sounded very interesting. He read the blurb in the back and they were quite intriguing and he was smiling as he was going through the books. That was until he picked up a book that was all too familiar to him and his jaw dropped when he saw…  _ Prince of Edom.  _

Magnus almost jumped and he blinked a few times, trying to make sure that he saw it right. And not only did Alec have  _ one _ book… he had all three among the ones that he published and he just took in a deep breath and his heart was hammering against his ribcage because this didn't make any sense. Why did Alec have these? Why? For what reason and what kind of a purpose?! Biting into his lip, Magnus quickly placed the books back because it was just too much.

Magnus was so desperate to bury that part of his past that he didn’t own any books himself. Well, he did, but he had them hidden and he was just so… confused and shocked. Nobody had those books, nobody knew him as Prince of Edom. Nobody. And now Alec had… his books? How? Alec didn’t mention it to him before, but that would make sense because Alec just didn’t know it was him. Still… Magnus quickly went back to the couch, face pale and he just felt… so many things.

Why were there his old books on Alec’s book shelf?!


	11. Chapter 11

After a long talk with Izzy, Alec finally managed to calm down a little bit, so he decided to finally return into the living room with all of the snacks that he prepared for himself and Magnus - again, he did buy many things, but he just wanted to present Magnus with a variety. He knew about a few things that Magnus liked as a food, but still he wanted to learn more… for the future. Yes, he was just conducting information as if he was a scientist and this was research on Magnus Bane? It sure sounded like this and his own thoughts made Alec flush, but he was back to being calm and now he was just slowly coming back to the living room, a wide smile on his lips when he found Magnus sitting on the couch just like before he left for the kitchen and he just hummed happily. 

“Sorry, it took me such a long time, but I bought a lot of things and I just wanted to make sure that everything is ready and okay,” said Alec and Magnus glanced over at him and managed a little smile when he saw Alec’s hands full with things and he quickly hurried over to him to help him carry some of the things. “Oh, I got this, you’re a guest plus you need to make sure that your hand is resting. I got this, trust me,” said Alec, but the bag of chips was already slipping from his hands and Magnus snorted.

“I think I can manage carry a bag of chips and popcorn,” said Magnus and gave Alec a little wink. Fuck, all of those breathing exercises before as he was calming down just flew straight out of the window because Magnus was just too much for him and he just cleared his throat. In the end he realised that it was for the best to allow Magnus to help him with things as if he wouldn’t all of it would end up falling on the floor and scattering all around. Because he wasn’t quite bright, he opened all of the bags when he was still back in the kitchen and it would be probably better to open them all in the living room.

Well, Alec couldn’t really be the one to blame as he was too flustered around Magnus, but he was trying and he just slowly placed all on the coffee table and then he took in a deep breath, rubbing his palms together. “Oh, I kind of went overboard, didn’t I?” asked Alec as he looked around the room and the coffee table was completely packed with snacks. Magnus snorted and then just shrugged it off because he was feeling kind of hungry and what he was craving was exactly that - snacks, not healthy at all, but he wanted them so much, feeling his mouth salivating.

“Alexander,” said Magnus, wanting to try out Alec’s full name again and he had to say that he quite liked saying it. Also he liked Alec’s adorable reaction - he could tell that not many people used his full name to address him and it was adorable. He always flushed a little bit and he was flustered a little bit. How adorable. That would be enough to make Magnus’ bad mood disappear, but his eyes then travelled over to the book shelf again and he was again faced with so many questions, his heart sinking to the pit of his stomach and Alec narrowed his eyes when he saw that Magnus was suddenly in a bad mood. Magnus did start talking, but he never finished his sentence and it made Alec wonder.

“Yeah, what’s up?” asked Alec and then leaned back against the couch. “Are you in mood for something sweet? I bought a shit ton of cookies too, so I can get them if you want,” said Alec and then winked. Oh, yes, he was quite proud of how well prepared he was for this…  _ not _ date. Alec didn’t want to call it a date because it wasn’t, it really wasn’t. But it was just them, Alec liked Magnus and they were just hanging out, but when you were on a date, you were also hanging out with the person that you liked and it was just… ugh, it was playing tricks with Alec’s mind. But, no, it wasn’t a date, he still wasn’t sure how Magnus felt and he was just…  _ if Magnus would like him, he would make the first move, no? _

Magnus just shrugged and dipped his hand into the bag of chips, but his eyes kept eyeing over to the book shelf and Alec figured that Magnus maybe wanted to borrow a book before? He probably got to see some of them before when he was in the kitchen on the phone with Izzy, which made sense, but it made him kind of curious to see why Magnus was suddenly in such a bad mood. Wanting to make him feel better, Alec leaned closer to Alec and then took in a deep breath. “Did you find a book that you like? You can borrow any book that you’d like, I don’t really mind it,” said Alec and then smiled. “In fact I’d be honoured if you’d like to borrow a book from me,” he said and flushed a little bit.

Oh, Alec was giving out all of the signs that he liked Magnus, didn’t he? And he still wouldn’t do anything about it? Hmm. Then maybe Magnus didn’t like him like that after all. It would make sense, just because Magnus was into guys as well, it wouldn’t mean that he just liked him because he was a guy. Still, Alec was kind of feeling deflated that Magnus didn’t try to put any moves on him. Alec’s mind was full of ideas and it was all Magnus’ fault - when his characters were home alone in his novels, they always did things and Alec’s heart jumped up to his throat.

_ They weren’t characters in the book! _

Alec couldn’t believe that he had to keep reminding himself of that! But if only life was as easy as the books, right? Oh, so many things would be resolved, but then again, there would be too much drama and Alec wouldn’t like it either. Izzy was right, in the end after all, if he wanted to know how Magnus feels about him, he would just have to ask him and that was terrifying and while Alec was asking himself how to do that, Magnus was thinking about the Prince of Edom books that he found and he just decided to come out and ask Alec about it. There had to be a reason why he had those books.

Maybe Ragnor told him? Ragnor and his friends and family were the only ones that knew that he was the Prince of Edom. Well, they and a few more people that weren’t a part of Magnus’ life anymore and he just huffed under his breath and chewed on his lip. What else could be the reason for Alec having those? It wasn’t like Alec was a fan of his books, nobody was! “I did take a look at your books before,” said Magnus painfully slowly and Alec cheered up and placed his hands together.

“Oh, yay, did you find something that you like? I will let you borrow any one that you’d like,” said Alec and happily clasped his hands together.

Magnus almost snapped at Alec for having those books. A part of him was very much paranoid when it came to his old works and he didn’t like it. He didn’t like it because he always got so worked up over it and he just wished that he could just erase the existence of those books and he was about to say something very cruel and stupid. That he and Ragnor were going behind his back with those books, but then he just bit his tongue and glanced down. Alec didn’t really look like he was trying to hide those books from him, he knew that he was coming and if he was really going behind his back and working with Ragnor about it, then he wouldn’t have those books displayed like that in the middle of his living room, especially if he knew that he was coming over.  _ Heck, Alec was the one that invited Magnus over, so there was no way.  _ Also, Alec wasn’t cruel like that and just thinking about it made Magnus feel guilty as hell. 

The look in Alec’s eyes was kind, he wasn’t trying to hide anything from him and he could see confusion in his eyes about his bad mood because Alec could tell that Magnus had something bothering him, but in the end Magnus just smiled and glanced away. Alec didn’t know that he was the Prince of Edom, did he? But that still didn’t explain why he had those books there. They were published almost ten years ago, so why would someone like Alec have those? Magnus had so many questions and he didn’t dare to ask any of them. He was too… paranoid, after all and he just puffed his cheeks.

Alec was just frowning because the look on Magnus’ face was confusing the hell out of him. Magnus looked like he was… nervous about something? But about what? Alec looked back at his book shelf and he just chewed on his lip. “I mean it - you can take any book that you’d like,” said Alec and then smiled, clasping his hands together. Because Magnus was one of his closest and best friends, he’d allow him to even take the books of Prince of Edom back to his place. Yes, Magnus meant that much to him.

And he was still kind of convinced that Magnus was him - he didn’t know how to explain it, but it was just…  _ ugh.  _ He just needed to ask, again, but it wasn’t that easy. At least not for him. Magnus had something dark about his writing in the past and maybe it was this and why the rest of the two books didn’t get published, he didn’t know. But the last thing that Magnus spoke about his past writing, he was in a very dark place, he was drunk and crying. So whatever it was, Alec wasn’t going to make Magnus think of bad things from his past. Never ever. He wanted this to be just a fun hang out, so he wasn’t going to ask anything about  _ that  _ part of his career.

“That’s very kind of you, Alec,” said Magnus in the end and forced on a little smile. Alec could tell that Magnus was forcing the good mood, but he didn’t really ask anything about it. Again, he didn’t want Magnus to feel worse than he already was. Still, he wished that he knew what made him feel like this. Ugh, it was so difficult to be him! “I’ll, um, take another look before leaving,” said Magnus and Alec smiled happily. “How about we just, um, watch some TV?” asked Magnus and Alec nodded and smiled, quickly turning on the TV.

They spent the rest of their hanging out with each other just chatting and watching TV, eating snacks and drinking lovely cocktails, talking about trivial things. Alec stopped gathering information on the fact if Magnus liked him or not. It just didn’t feel right when he could quite obviously tell that something was bothering Magnus and he just chewed on his lip.

_ He wished that whatever was bothering Magnus would just go away.  _ Because all that Magnus deserved was to be happy and smile! But despite all of that, they ended up having quite a lot of fun. In the end they decided to borrow some of Jace’s games that he had in there. Magnus wasn’t quite tech savvy, but Alec got everything together and they ended up playing a round or two of video games and even if Alec didn’t really manage to ask Magnus out, he was still just happy that he got to spend some quality time together with him. It was always just so much fun!

* * *

Alec was in amazing mood. His little hang out (not a date) went amazing with Magnus and he ended up borrowing two of his books all written by his favourite writers and he was just shining with pride. Alec failed to see how much Magnus was looking toward the Prince of Edom books, he was just too excited to have Magnus around. He was happy, it was quite a huge step with him and he was happily sitting in his room, sitting in front of his computer and because he had the rest of the day off, Alec decided to spend it with something that he always loved doing - writing for his book blog.

It’s been a while since he had last written a review up on there, but talking with Magnus about it the other day, he felt inspired all over again. Maybe that was all that he needed - someone to tell him how much his writing was good? Alec didn’t usually know what others thought about his little book blog. He didn’t have all that many readers and the people that usually came to comment under his posts were fans of the books that he was critiquing. But they didn’t leave him any productive comments about his review, they would just leave nasty and mean comments if he didn’t happen to like the book that he was reviewing.

He happened to run into a few interesting people on there and he had a few back and forth discussion in the comments, but that was about it. So when someone told him that his writing was actually good, Alec was very inspired. That it came from Magnus (or M. A. Matthews) just made him so much happier! And now Alec was going to write a review after a long, long time. He was kind of meaning to write a review on one of Magnus’ books, but in the end he decided that he just wasn’t ready for that big of a step.

Alec wasn’t scared to write what he liked or what he didn’t like about the book - he told Magnus all about it before, but he just knew that Magnus was reading the reviews and he wanted to really do a good job on it, which would take him quite a few days of reading and because he just wanted to do something lighthearted and something that he would actually manage to publish in a day… he decided that he could write about his love for Prince of Edom.

He was inspired with the re-reading Prince’s books again and he just wanted to share with the world how much he appreciated and loved his works. He knew that probably not many people would really care about it, but he didn’t mind it. He just wanted to put it all into words how much those books meant to him and he just took in a deep breath and then he rubbed his palms together as he opened up the blank document on his computer, cracked his knuckles and just started typing.

Oh, how much he wished that maybe Prince of Edom could see and read his little book blog and maybe after this, he would see how much his books were appreciated. Alec didn’t really know where he was going with this, but he just wanted to express how much these books meant to him and this was the first time he would be doing a review on his favourite books. Well, it wasn’t really a review, but a very subjective blog post, an ode to the Prince of Edom and he knew that and didn’t really care. Alec took in a deep breath typed the title of the blog post.

> **_Prince of Edom, where are you?_ **

Alec smiled and then rubbed his palms together again. Maybe it was a little bit cheesy to put such a title, but he didn't care. It was silly and funny, kind of cheesy - like the Prince’s books and then he just chewed on his lip as he just started typing. This time he didn’t really have any plans, he was just going to literally pour his feelings out and he hoped that he would be able to do a good job. Biting into his lip, Alec’s breath was shaking a little bit, but all that he needed to think about was how much he loved the books and the post started writing itself. 

> _ This post is going to be a lot different from my usual ones. I know that I usually post very rude reviews mostly on the books that I dislike and I am trying to change that. Also, I’ve recently been kind of busy with going something very very exciting, so I didn’t really have the time to post on here anymore, but well… I’m back now and I just want to write about an author that I’ve been a fan for almost ten years now. I’m not very sure how many of you will recognise his name, but the author that went by the name of Prince of Edom is my one and absolutely favourite author of all times and if you know and like him you’re literally my favourite person ever. _
> 
> _ I don’t even know how to begin this, how do you put it in words? His works have helped me so much throughout my entire high school. It hasn’t been easy, high school sucked, but his works were always there for me when I needed a little bit of cheering up. The books are silly and quirky, someone might argue that they are meant for children, I wouldn’t really disagree with that. Children can enjoy them, but it can be also for others as well. _
> 
> _ For someone who was struggling with my sexuality during my years in high school, it was very hard. I have been able to accept only as of recent because of a dear friend that I’ve met and his works have been also there for me when I needed answers. But nobody has helped me like Prince of Edom. Coming out and LGBTQ+ themes weren’t really that much in centre of his stories, but he mentioned having a boyfriend and this was for the very first time that I asked myself - ‘’a boy can date another boy?’’ _
> 
> _ It is kind of sad if I think about now it. It truly is, I didn’t even realise that it was possible, that there were people like me out there. It’s hard to believe it now, but we just didn’t talk about things like this in private. It was such a small thing, but it helped me a lot. It gave me lots of hope to see him write about his relationships and the other hardships that he went through, yet he somehow managed to wrap them all up with exciting things.  _
> 
> _ Things of wonder, fantasy. Humour. His outlook on life has always fascinated me and made me want to be more like him. Reading his books really did put me into a safety bubble and made me feel like everything was okay. Recently I started re-reading his books again and I started to wonder what happened to him. I know there were supposed to be two more books coming out, but they never came out. I tried contacting his publishing company, but they were very, very rude to me. They shut me down completely and told me they didn’t want to be associated with him in any shape or form.  _
> 
> _ I kind of have my own theory that they are the reason that he stopped publishing and if this is the reason why I would gladly tell them to fuck off. I don’t really know how well his books did, but that isn’t a reason why to be so rude. Truly! And not everything is in the number of sold copies, it’s more than this. Writing is an art and everyone should have a space to express themselves even if it is though silly little diary entries. _
> 
> _ It’s a pity we never got the rest of the books. Who knows what else would he write in the future? His writing skills are out of this world, y’all. If you want to just escape from your real world and want a world full of adventures, but also want a hint of humor in it, do check his books out. They’re amazing. I mean it. You won’t regret it for a second. I can’t believe it’s not a best-seller. But then again I might be biased because I did want to marry the Prince at one point, lol.  _
> 
> _ Yes, my obsession went to that point. Heck, if I find out who this Prince is now, I will buy an engagement ring myself and propose asap. But, yes, all jokes aside - the books are amazing. They will make you laugh, they will make you cry, they will take you on adventures. Gosh, I cannot even express it in words how much they helped me. They will be forever my favourite ones.  _
> 
> _ And Prince of Edom, if you happen to be reading this, please come back. I NEED the rest of the books. Or at least reach out to me. I want to let you know just how much I appreciate you and how much your works mean to me. _

  * > _AL._




Alec was proud of what he wrote and he was smiling as he pressed the publish button. He knew that there was no way that Prince of Edom would  _ ever _ read his post, but it was just… it felt nice writing this all out. He didn’t have many readers, but even the very few needed to hear of the amazing writer that was Prince of Edom. 

* * *

Magnus was sitting in his loft, gripping on his phone. Magnus was bored and he decided to go back on Alec’s blog to read another one of his reviews - he had many more to read and he wanted to take his mind off things for a little while, but his heart sank to the bottom of his stomach when he read  _ Prince of Edom, where are you?  _ Alec truly didn’t know, no. Then it was all just a coincidence? But what were the chances?

And the post moved him to tears. His hand was shaking as he was reading, scrolling down. It was shorter post than usually, but it was still pretty lengthy and everything that he read…  _ Alec was there from the very start?  _ Alec was a fan of his, Alec was… Oh, gosh. Tears were rolling down his cheeks. “ _ But he mentioned having a boyfriend and this was for the very first time that I asked myself - ‘’a boy can date another boy?’’ _ ” read Magnus out loud and he sniffled. “Oh, Alec,” he said, sniffling and then he cracked a little chuckle when he read Alec telling his former company to fuck off.

Then he was back to tearing up and he snorted when he read that Alec was ready to marry the Prince of Edom, hugging his pillow tightly and he just shook his head because all this time… Magnus chewed on his lip and then glanced up a little bit and tried to calm down, re-reading Alec’s post three times. It meant so much to him. While he was writing under that pen name, he didn’t get much support. His company treated him like shit. And now here he was, almost a decade later reading a fan letter basically and it was just so much… he didn’t know how to explain it and he spent a good half an hour just trying to stop crying.

“You dork, you adorable dork,” sniffled Magnus and then cleared his throat and then puffed his cheeks. He straightened himself up and a little grin spread across his lips because… well, Alec was already willing to walk down the aisle with him so might as well tease him a little bit. But the main thing Magnus wanted Alec to know that the letter did reach his favourite author.

All this time though, really? Universe was really… funny.

So Magnus scrolled down to comments and picked out a nickname for himself:  **PrinceOfEdom.** And then he typed the comment saying:  _ So, when’s the date of our wedding?  _ Magnus snorted, but then he made another comment underneath that.

* * *

Alec narrowed his eyes when he saw notification that he had two new comments on his post. Already, so soon? Alec clicked onto it and his jaw dropped when he read the comments.

**PrinceOfEdom:** So, when’s the date of our wedding? ;-)

**PrinceOfEdom:** No, but truly. Thank you so much. I spent a decade thinking nobody liked my books. Thank you so much for your kind words.

Alec blinked a few times and then took in a deep breath. Was this a joke? Was someone pranking him? Oh, it was Jace or Izzy or… it was the Prince! But Prince would be reading his blog? Alec was just… unless the Prince really was Magnus, he expressed how much he liked reading his blog as of recently and if that was Magnus, Alec just-

“I need to lay down,” said Alec.

Alec.exe stopped working for good. 


	12. Chapter 12

“And you swear you didn’t write it, Jace?” asked Alec, narrowing his eyes as he was interrogating Jace, walking up and down the living room. He believed Izzy when he asked her about it, but Jace was different - Jace was usually teasing him in the past about his love for the Prince of Edom. And Jace knew that he was running that book blog, he did read it even occasionally. So that was why Alec needed to make sure it wasn’t either of them - neither Izzy or Jace. Alec rarely got comments on his posts so soon after posting them, so that was why he was sceptical and he needed to make sure it was neither of his siblings if he wanted to ask Magnus about it.

It was a day later, Alec finally processed what happened - kind of - he was still in state of shock, but he was slowly coming down to Earth now and he tried to take things slowly. He didn’t even know how he would bring it up with Magnus, he was just… he needed to be very careful about it and he then placed his hands on top of his sides when he glared at Jace, trying to shake him up a little bit. Jace was a well-known liar and he would do something like that, just to tease him. And that was why Alec was being extra hard on him, clearing his throat as he was walking around Jace, who was sitting in the middle of the room, on a chair. It was almost as if he was trapped there. Alec was just going to make sure Jace wasn’t going to get any funny ideas about running away. 

“No!” said Jace and then rolled his eyes. “I didn’t even know you updated your blog yesterday, I was busy doing… other things,” said Jace and a little smirk spread across his face when he remembered the lovely time that he had with Clary. It was quite a lovely date and when Alec saw the look on his face, he just wrinkled his nose because he really didn’t want to know what, or who Jace was busy doing yesterday and he just cleared his throat and Jace snapped back to reality.

“Ew,” said Alec and Jace rolled his eyes.

“It was a date, Alec, a date,” said Jace and then crossed his arms on top of his chest and then he just shook his head and then grumbled under his breath. “Can you please tell me why are you being so paranoid? It was probably just a comment from a random reader of yours. Or a troll, you know? I mean they ask you when’s the date of your wedding, don’t you think that’s kind of suspicious?” asked Jace and Alec took in a deep breath.

“I don’t know, you tell me. You were trolling me all through high school about me liking the Prince of Edom,” said Alec and placed his hands together behind his back. “Your sense of humour is very weird and you’re the type that would find this funny,” he said and narrowed his eyes. Jace started laughing because was Alec doing a very bad imitation of a scary detective? Well, if he was playing a detective, then he was doing a very bad job at it because he had nothing that would prove him that it was him.

“Look at the time that it was posted, I was out on a date with Clary,” said Jace and shook his head. “I really like her, do you think I’d spend time typing this kind of a comment when I was with her?” asked Jace and rolled his eyes again. Alec then took in a deep breath and then he shook his head slowly. Okay, Jace had a point - he was out on a date. Well, at least that was what he claimed anyway and in the end Alec decided that he was going to believe his brother - for now. 

So that were the two people out that he was suspicious about. It wasn’t Jace nor Izzy, so that only left it to Magnus, right? Gosh, Alec hoped that he wasn’t just making things up. The writing style was too similar, there wasn’t really any other… well, there could be the possibility of a random internet troll to write it like this, but it wasn’t… ti didn't’ feel like it. The Prince did thank him and it felt genuine and Alec just took in a deep breath and then eh shook his head. So he was just going to have to pluck up the courage and ask Magnus about it. If it was true or not.

But wouldn’t Magnus tell him if that was the case? Alec decided that he would wait for a little bit. He was going to be meeting up with him later that day and he was going to wait for Magnus to make the first move or any signs of acting different. If that was going to be the case, then Alec was going to bring it up. He didn’t want to upset Magnus again by comparing him to another author. It was enough the first time around and he just took in a deep breath and shook his head.

“It could really be the Prince though,” said Alec and Jace looked over at him.

“You really believe that?” asked Jace and Alec gave him an offended look.

“Yes, why not?”

“Alec, do you know the chances of Prince of Edom really reading your blog?” asked Jace and Alec’s face reddened with both anger and embarrassment. Yes, he knew that, Jace didn’t have to spell it out for him. He knew that, but he also knew something that Jace didn’t and he just pressed his lips together. “Look, I don’t mean to be a dick,” said Jace. “But it’s probably for the best if you don’t get your hopes up. It’s probably someone just trying to mess with you,” said Jace and Alec took in a deep breath.

“I get that,” said Alec and then pouted because he didn’t like Jace ruining his excitement. “But it could also be the Prince. I mean how do you know it’s not him, huh?” asked Alec and then shook his head. “I mean… it could be the Prince as much as a random person on the internet,” said Alec and then angrily looked at Jace. He didn’t like Jace putting it that way, it discouraged him and it made him feel bad for getting excited. Bad and stupid. Maybe it was just a random person after all? “I mean why would a random person comment something like that? They don’t have much to gain from it, no?”

“Oh, Alec, you’re so innocent and pure,” said Jace and laughed. “The internet is full of trolls like this and they would just do this because they would be bored. Or maybe it’s someone that doesn’t quite like you. You did piss of a lot of fans of other authors with your posts so far, so maybe it’s just someone trying to prank you,” said Jace and Alec took in a deep breath and then shook his head.

“Or it could be him,” said Alec.

“Yes, but again, the chances of that-”

“Why are you like this? Izzy was supportive of it, she told be that it could be him. You’re always just trying fun for me,” said Alec and didn’t really mean it, he was just pissed that Jace wouldn’t get onto his page. He knew that Jace was trying to be rational, he would be the same if it was about someone else. Logically he knew that the chances were slim, but the writing and Magnus and… ugh. Maybe he was just getting his hopes up too much and he was looking into it too much!

“I didn’t mean… I’m just trying to look out for you,” said Jace and then shook his head. “I didn’t want to make you upset, I was just-”

“I know,” said Alec and then just sat down onto the couch and his eyes travelled over to the book shelf on which the books of Prince were and he just sadly sighed. “I know you didn’t mean to hurt me. I think I’m just… I just want to know what happened you know? I want to know why he suddenly stopped publishing his stories and I just want him to know how much his writing helped me,” said Alec and Jace gave him a little smile.

Jace still didn’t even read the post, so he didn’t know what Alec wrote in it and immediately that Alec realised that he started sweating. He did kind of tell the others that he was… well, he did kind of come out to the world? In a way. He didn’t use his full name on there, so others didn’t know who he was, but still… Jace would read it and Alec went into full panic mode and he bit his lip. He needed to delete it! At this rate Jace was going to read it and he was going to find out that-

Alec took in a deep breath and closed his eyes.

Alec didn’t want to delete it and he just bit his lip and he looked over at Jace, who was now sitting next to him. “Um, so you didn’t read it yet?” asked Alec and Jace shook his head and he nervously smiled it. “If-if you’re going to read it, I just, um, want you to keep on open head, okay? I wrote about some… personal things and I didn’t even think of it before, but if you do read it, please don’t hate me?” asked Alec suddenly, his voice small and Jace’s eyes widened.

“Why would I?” asked Jace and quickly reached for his phone because he wanted to read it there, but Alec quickly shook his head.

“C-can you please read it when I’m not in the room?” asked Alec and Jace cocked his head to the side. “I’ll soon be going out and, um, do-do it then, okay?” asked Alec and Jace just nodded, tucking his phone away again and he just shook his head and placed his arms around Alec’s shoulders.

“I’m not gonna hate you, come on,” said Jace and Alec smiled, but in a very sad way.

“I-I hope,” he muttered.

_ Fuck, he didn’t think of this at all! _

* * *

Magnus was waiting for Alec to come over - he was going to come by any minute now and he was just feeling giddy all over. He tried not to get too excited, but it was just… Alec’s blog post cheered him up so much and he felt a little bit better about his past writing. It gave him a little bit more confidence back and he was sitting behind his laptop, his cursor hovering over a file that he didn’t open up in years. It meant enough to him to keep transferring it from computer to computer, but he was never really brave enough to open the file, but now he just took in a deep breath and nodded to himself. 

In there, there in total of five different files - all of them were books, books that he published under his previous pen name and he didn’t dare to open since the third book completely flopped. Biting into his lip, his eyes travelled to the other two files, the books that he finished but they never made it to printing and he just chewed on his lip and he rubbed the back of his neck. It was kind of a bummer, they meant so much, but there wasn’t anyone to read them. Nobody even knew that they existed. Not ever Ragnor.

Ragnor was a friend of his for a long time, but was his editor even at their previous company and he was always there to encourage him. Just like Alec, he also liked his books. He liked how quirky they were and that meant a lot to Magnus, but a part of him always believed that he said that because he was his friend. But maybe he wasn’t, if Alec liked his books, maybe there were others out there that liked his books as well. 

But yes, after the last book, the sales were so low and the previous company dropped him, just like that. Magnus took a long break from writing, because he needed to get away from the whole thing. He got a job, but he was also very miserable there and quite terrible at it. He got fired within a few months after being hired there and trying out at a few different places, he was always miserable. He knew very well why - it was because writing was what he truly loved doing. Adding on a few more personal problems, a terrible break up, Magnus decided that it was time for a change and he decided to return back to writing. 

With bills to pay and loans piling up, Magnus decided that it was time to change up his genre of writing. He could easily ask his father for help, but he didn’t want to. He wanted to do it on his own; it was always hard for him to ask for help, especially financial one. His father would gladly help him out, but Magnus didn’t tell him about the bills that were piling up. 

Ragnor loaned Magnus some money in the end, it was enough to get him by for the few months, in which he spent working on his first romance novel. It was different, he liked writing it, but it just didn’t feel as personal. But he knew that it would have better chances of selling and with a new pen name, Magnus was all set up for publishing his very first romance novel and for a rookie, a completely new writer in the field of romance novels, Magnus’ book did amazing. He sold more copies on that book than he did on the three books of Prince of Edom combined.

That was what cemented the belief that nobody cared for his personal stories into him. It hammered it into him and it hurt a lot. Yes, he was happy that his books were selling so well, it helped him pay off the debt… all of that was true. He appreciated the love and support, but it also broke him. It wasn’t an easy thing to get over and Magnus was just biting on his nails as he was glancing at the files and he then just took in a deep breath and opened up the file of the fourth book and he gasped as the file loaded and he just held in his breath for a few moments. 

Magnus was reading through the very few paragraphs and he took in a deep breath and then shook his head. Magnus did announce that there were supposed to be coming two more books, but he didn’t really tell anyone that they were already written. Not even to Ragnor, after the failure of the last book he kind of wanted to sweep it all under a rug and it was just… a terrible time of it all. But there he was, slowly reading through the first few pages and he felt chills running down his spine and he smiled softly, taking a little break every now and there because it was just a lot for his to handle.

Magnus could tell the change between  _ this _ writing and the writing now - the difference was huge, absolutely! Magnus could tell that in the diaries of Prince of Edom there was a lot more passion behind the words, even if they were just little silly stories. It was different and Magnus huffed under his breath, scrolling down a little bit and he spent quite a long time reading it before he heard a knock at the door and he quickly placed the laptop back down and he narrowed his eyes, looking over to the clock. Oh, it was so late already, Alec was already there!

In a hurry, Magnus forgot to close the file and he quickly hurried over to the door, feeling completely giddy inside. It was different now.  _ Alec confessed his love for the Prince, the Prince was him and there was a possibility that Alec, well, liked him like that! _ Was it a stupid idea? Maybe, but Magnus was feeling butterflies in his stomach and he couldn’t wait to see Alec. He was (maybe) going to tell him. That day!

* * *

“Magnus, I fucked up,” said Alec quite quickly after he came over to Magnus’ and he was pretty stressed out. Magnus was all giddy, he was preparing himself to tell Alec about him being the Prince of Edom, but it seemed that Alec had other things on his mind and it was kind of… maybe he felt just a little bit disappointed, but when he saw how scared Alec was, he kind forgot all about those plans. For a little while. Alec was getting ready to start typing, but he was too worried. About Jace.

“What happened?”

“I did a stupid thing yesterday. I wrote a blog post,” said Alec and Magnus’ eyes widened.  _ He called that stupid?  _ No, it wasn’t stupid! It made Magnus feel- “I mean what wrote in it, I kind of came out to all of my readers. Which is fine, I don’t use my real name. I came out only to Izzy and-and Jace reads my blog and-and I kind of attacked him today about it and he will now read it for sure and I’m still not too sure if I’m ready to come out to him and it’s just… ugh. I messed up,” said Alec and then looked up at Magnus, who was trying to think of things to say.

Okay, so Alec didn’t regret posting the tribute to Prince of Edom. Magnus bit his lip and then clasped his hands together. “Okay, first I need you take in a deep breath,” said Magnus and Alec nodded, took in a deep breath and then exhaled deeply and then hummed, nodding because it felt better, biting into his lip and then he looked over at Magnus and then chewed on his lip. Alec was terrified and Magnus gave him a little smile of encouragement. “I’m pretty sure that Jace isn’t going to freak out as much as you think,” said Magnus and Alec bit his lip and shrugged.

“I don’t know, Magnus, we’ve never… I mean he always suggests me dating women and I just… I mean I didn’t- ugh, I don’t know, Magnus, I hope you’re right,” said Alec and then checked his phone to see if Jace sent him a text, but there wasn’t anything and he just shook his head. Well, maybe he didn’t read it yet. Maybe Magnus was right, he was the one that was freaking out too much about it.

“Alexander, it’ll be okay,” said Magnus and Alec looked at him.  _ How did he know that though?  _ “Look, if you want - we can do something else today. The book is almost finished. Let’s just watch a movie or something?” asked Magnus and Alec shook his head. He wasn’t in the mood, not really, he wanted to write. It would help him to focus and forget about Jace for a little while. 

“No, I wanna write, it’ll help me,” said Alec. “Until Jace replies, I need to keep myself busy,” said Alec and Magnus sighed sadly. His heart went out to Alec, but if he didn’t want to talk about it, he respected him. And if writing helped him, then who was Magnus to disagree? Especially when he knew just how Alec felt. Writing always helped him as well and he just nodded and then gave Alec a little smile.

“Okay. Let’s write then,” said Magnus and sat back onto his usual sofa, Alec glancing over to computer and he nodded. “And if you want to stop at any point, tell me and we can just do something else,” said Magnus, still wanting Alec to know that it was okay for them to be doing something else. Alec smiled nervously and then nodded. Magnus was amazing, he was really the best. Being with him made him feel like everything was going to be okay. He was just the best.

“Okay, let’s get to it then,” said Alec and then cracked his knuckles and ignored how much his heart was racing. He glanced down at Magnus’ laptop, unlocked it as he already knew Magnus’ password and his eyes widened a little bit when he saw that Magnus was working on something before he came in there? There was a file open and he just hummed - Magnus could write on his own already? That was a lot of text! “Oh, have you been writing on your own?” asked Alec and Magnus’ jaw fell to the floor, his heart stopping when he realised that he forgot to close the file before.

“Alec, close the file,” said Magnus quickly. “It’s nothing, it’s stupid. Just close it, it’s-”

“Getting shy now?” asked Alec, cracking up and shook his head. “Come on, I’ve read your works, remember? You don’t have to be shy around me,” said Alec, teasing a little bit because he thought that Magnus was feeling shy about a scene that he wrote. “Don’t worry, I won’t read it, I’ll close it right about-” started Alec, but then something caught his attention and his eyes finally fell onto the text. “Now,” said Alec and then narrowed his eyes because even though he said he wouldn’t read it, he saw the word  _ Asmodeus _ written on it and that was the first connection that he made to the Prince of Edom. He was always on and on about how overprotective his father was, which was kind of hilarious of a  _ demon  _ and-

It was clear to Magnus that Alec was reading and that he recognised the work and he just swallowed thickly. Oh, God. He didn’t imagine it like this. He was just… scared? He didn’t know - was Alec going to be disappointed finding out it was him? Alec was confused because he could recognise the work, it was clearly a book from Prince of Edom, but he didn’t read all of this yet. So, what was…  _ the unpublished books?!  _ Alec’s eyes widened and he looked over at Magnus. “Magnus, what is this?” asked Alec.

He knew what it was, he knew who Magnus was for a while now, but  _ this _ was the final piece of information that he needed and he looked over at Magnus. He looked pale and he was avoiding looking at him. So the comments were by Magnus - there was no doubt about it. Alec took in a deep breath and Magnus gulped. Alec was quiet, why was he so quiet? Magnus was nervous as hell and he just stepped back a little bit. 

“Prince of Edom,” whispered Magnus and then looked down again. He had his hands in his pockets, too nervous to know what to do with them and he wished Alec would say something.

“It’s you,” said Alec and Magnus slowly nodded. Alec covered his mouth with his palm and Magnus shook his head.

“I’m sorry,” said Magnus. Alec narrowed his eyes - why was he sorry? “I-I didn’t want you to find out like this. I wanted to… I don’t even know, I-I just,” he said and his voice trailed off, looking down. 

“It really is you,” whispered Alec and Magnus looked at him.

“You knew?” asked Magnus.

“There’s no way I wouldn’t recognise my favourite author,” said Alec. “The way you write… it’s breathtaking,” said Alec and Magnus felt his eyes getting misty. Alec managed to recognise his writing! Nobody else did! But Alec, he knew. How? Oh, fuck, he was getting teary-eyed, but this was just- “I-I had a feeling, but I didn’t know for sure, I needed to make sure and-and now-”

“Are you disappointed?” asked Magnus and Alec quickly shook his head. Disappointed?! Oh, if only Magnus knew how funny that sounded, but in the end he didn’t make a joke about it. Magnus looked so small, standing there, uncertain and Alec slowly stood up. Magnus made another step back and he shook his head. 

Alec was screaming inside. His heart was melting, his brain stopped working a long time ago and he was just… shaking all over. This was Prince of Edom, his first crush, his favourite author. Alec’s head was spinning and he was just ready to burst in any second now. Alec wanted to tell Magnus how much he loved him, but then he saw that Magnus was still waiting for an answer. 

_ Are you disappointed? _

“I’m overjoyed, I was hoping I was right,” said Alec in the end and Magnus smiled, blinking and he let the tears fall down his cheeks. Hiccuping, Magnus took in a deep breath and Alec finally stood up and walked over to Magnus, wrapping his arms around him. Magnus held onto Alec tightly, sniffling and Alec slowly pulled back just a little bit. Magnus gave him a little smile, feeling Alec’s hand upon his cheek and he gasped softly. Magnus didn’t know who leaned in first, but before he realised what was happening, Alec’s lips were on his own.


	13. Chapter 13

Alec reached up with his hand, trying to wipe the tears away from Magnus’ cheeks, his breath stopping in his throat when his eyes fell upon Magnus’ eyes and he shuddered. They were only a few centimetres apart;  _ Magnus was so close.  _ Alec shuddered and gulped, feeling Magnus’ hot breath against his cheek and his eyes fell down onto Magnus’ lips. Magnus’ makeup was smudged due to the tears and Alec bit his lip - he didn’t want to make Magnus cry and his eyes widened when he saw Magnus locking gaze with him and before he knew it, Magnus was leaning in. Leaning in for a kiss? Alec’s head was starting to spin and instead of pulling away, he leaned in as well, feeling his heart speeding and his stomach made a flop.  _ In a very pleasant way.  _

Alec leaned in a bit more and gently grazed his lips against Magnus’. It was barely a kiss, if you could even call it like that, their lips just gently pressed against each other, but just that simple touch made Alec feel  _ so alive _ . Magnus didn’t pull away either and Alec pressed his lips upon Magnus’ for the second time, feeling a little bit more confident, the rational way of thinking flying out of the window and Alec didn’t even think about anything else than how good Magnus’ lips felt up against his, shuddering softly when Magnus kissed him back  _ finally.  _ Magnus moved his lips slowly and it made Alec gasp out loudly, his eyes slowly falling close.

Alec didn’t know what he was doing, he was clueless, this was his first kiss and he hoped that Magnus wasn’t going to be able to tell. But then again, he did tell him that he never dated, so Magnus was probably able to put two and two together. Even if he was lacking experience, Alec didn’t let that shy him away from kissing Magnus, he has been wanting to do that for weeks now, moaning out softly when he felt Magnus leaning his head to the side, so that he could have better access for the kiss, slightly deepening their kiss and Alec allowed Magnus to lead their first kiss.

Magnus was definitely a lot more experienced than him, but Alec was eager to learn. Magnus smiled into their kiss, feeling Alec’s clumsy kisses, trying to mimic him and he went slow, allowing Alec to properly enjoy their first kiss,  _ his first kiss.  _ Magnus’ head was spinning when that crossed his mind; it was Alec’s first kiss. It was adorable, Alec clumsy kisses were adorable and he loved the way Alec was kissing him back. Careful and shy, but also eager and determined. Magnus smiled when he felt Alec’s thumb gently caressing his cheek and he shuddered softly.

Magnus’ cheek was still wet, trails of tears were still fresh upon his cheeks and Alec’s heart squeezed. Magnus should never be crying, even if they were tears of happiness? Relief? Alec didn’t know as of yet, but he was just…  _ Magnus should never be crying, only smiling.  _ Alec shuddered when he felt Magnus wrapping his strong arms around him and even though he was a bit taller than Magnus, at the moment he felt just so small, fragile, wearing his heart on his sleeve and they slowly parted, Alec breathing fast, trying to collect himself. He felt like he was floating, feeling Magnus’ hand upon his cheek and he looked down upon him and he took in a deep breath.

“Magnus, I-” stammered Alec, surprised by how low his voice was and Magnus slowly shook his head. Alec nuzzled into the touch of Magnus’ palm - so warm, so soft, closing his eyes and Magnus smiled softly. At the moment Alec reminded him of a cat and he softly chuckled and brought Alec closer a little bit, pressing their foreheads together. Magnus didn’t know what to say. They just kissed and he didn’t know how to…  _ they really needed to talk. _

“You’re shaking,” whispered Magnus and Alec looked down again, cheeks red a little bit and he nodded. Of course he was shaking, this was the first time he’d ever get to kiss someone and he didn’t know what he should do  _ after it.  _ Alec bit his lip and then looked down to Magnus’ lips again. He wanted to kiss Magnus more. “It’s okay,” whispered Magnus and leaned in again. “Are you scared?” asked Magnus and Alec quickly shook his head because he’d never be scared, not with Magnus. Not with the Prince of Edom. Never.

“No,” said Alec, trying to sound collected, but his voice came out as a mere whisper.

“First kiss?”

“Ever. Yes,” stammered Alec. The only thing that he could hear was Magnus’ breathing and the sound of his own racing heart. Magnus gave him a little smile and leaned in again, pressing a kiss upon the bridge of his nose and Alec cutely giggled, but his laughter died out as soon as he looked into Magnus’ eyes again and he felt his knees getting weak again.  _ They kissed, what did that mean? Did it mean that Magnus liked him back?  _ Alec had to many questions, but all of them disappeared into thin air when Magnus pulled him closer again.

“Then I better make you remember it forever, huh?” asked Magnus.  _ He was flirting!  _ Alec was  _ livid _ . Alec wanted to say something smart back as well, but instead of using his words, he used his lips in a much better way and he crushed their lips together again and Magnus smiled softly. Alec wasn’t innocent at all  _ and _ he was such a fast learned. Kissing Magnus again, Alec was the first one who deepened their kiss that time and Magnus groaned softly into the kiss. Still, Alec allowed Magnus to take the lead.

Alec was too eager, Magnus slowed down the kiss a little bit and Alec didn’t complain one bit, moaning into their kiss and his head was spinning when he felt Magnus’ teasing lick across his lower lip. Oh, Alec was going to remember for the rest of his life, for sure. And he used to laugh at the romance novels, the descriptions of kisses always sounded too much for him, but now he realised that they weren’t  _ enough.  _ Kissing Magnus was out of this world and when he felt his knees getting weak for the second time, he decided that they should sit down, dragging Magnus back with him and he plopped down onto the sofa, pulling Magnus down with him.

Magnus grinned and as soon as he was sitting down, he leaned against Alec, gently pushed him against the sofa and he kissed him softly again. Wrapping his arms around Magnus, Alec pulled him down and much closer. Alec was kissing him like a starved man, heck, he was holding himself back all this time and now all the feelings erupted out at the same time. The little muffled moans and gasps that he was getting from Alec were adorable and Magnus was getting drunk on the feeling, but he also knew that he should soon be pulling away from the kiss. 

“Magnus,” gasped Alec and Magnus loved the way Alec said his name then. Shyly, but adorable. It rolled off of his tongue perfectly and Magnus pressed a little kiss on top of Alec’s temple, diving in for more, but just as their lips were about to touch, Alec’s phone started ringing and thus both of them were back on Earth and Alec’s eyes widened, Magnus still half laying on top of his and Alec flushed all the way up to his ears and he pressed his lips together. Magnus quickly pulled back, but Alec remained laying like that because he didn’t think it was possible for him to move again.

“Alexander, your phone,” said Magnus and Alec finally registered the ringing again.

“O-oh, right, phone,” said Alec and quickly reached for his phone. Magnus found it adorable the way Alec was struggling to function properly and he was biting down on his lip, trying not to laugh too much, but how could he not? He was too precious and Alec’s eyes widened when he saw Jace’s name written on the screen and he looked over to Magnus and then back to the screen. “It’s Jace!” said Alec quickly and was catapulted on his legs, his heart pounding in his chest again and he was walking around the room.  _ So, that was it then? Jace read his blog post and now he knew! _

Alec took in a deep breath and looked over to Magnus, who gave him a little encouraging smile and he then glanced towards the door. Magnus didn’t want to leave Alec alone, he still wanted to hang out and they were going to do that  _ after _ the phone call - Alec needed to take care of it on his own and if he was going to need him afterwards, Magnus was of course going to be there for him. But a talk like that needed to happen in person and Magnus chewed on his lip. “I’ll step outside so that you can have the talk with your brother in private,” said Magnus softly and Alec quickly shook his head.

No, what? Magnus was leaving?! Alec wasn’t sure if he would be able to handle it on his own, but then again, Magnus was probably right. He should take care of the phone call in private and then maybe they could go back to doing pleasant things, right? Alec’s cheeks were again red and he just looked down and then took in a deep breath. “O-okay,” said Alec and then bit his lip. “Just, um, don’t go too far okay? I don’t know how he will take the news, so I-I don’t want to be alone if he reacts in a negative way,” said Alec and Magnus smiled softly.

“But of course, Alexander,” said Magnus and Alec smiled. He liked that Magnus suddenly started calling him by his full name, it was truly an experience. It always warmed up his heart, but he was still the only person that was able to address him by his full name and he just chewed on his lip. “I believe your brother is a good person, he will be supportive of it,” said Magnus. Alec’s phone stopped ringing in the middle of their talk, of course, Alec was taking too long, but he was going to call Jace back. It was better to do this over the phone. Magnus was there and also Alec wasn’t so sure if he would be able to look Jace into his eyes and have the talk with him in person. It was easier to do it over the phone. “If you need me, just call out to me okay?”

“Y-yes, um, thank you,” said Alec and gave Magnus a nervous giggle. Magnus winked and then slowly left his office and made sure that he didn’t wander off too far as he patiently waited right outside as Alec was on the phone with his brother, hoping that Jace was going to be  _ kind.  _ Magnus liked to believe the best in people and given that he was raised by the same people as Alec - who turned out amazing, kind and caring - he was sure that Jace was going to take the news quite well. Alec’s sister did, so why wouldn’t he as well? And if he wasn’t going to, then… Well, Magnus was ready to fight!

* * *

Magnus did say that he was going to be patient and he was patiently waiting outside of his office, but at the same time, he was literally screaming inside!  _ Alexander and he had just kissed  _ and what a kiss it was. Oh, it wasn’t just a kiss that Alec was never going to forget, Magnus was also going to have quite a hard time forgetting such an amazing first kiss. It was just… he didn’t know how to explain it, but he loved it and it made him wonder - Alec did kiss him because he liked him and not because he liked  _ Prince of Edom, right?  _ Alec did say that he was crushing on him in the blog post and there was the joke that Alec wanted to propose to the Prince, but-

Magnus always thought too much, that was because he made too many problems for himself. And that was exactly why he and Alec needed to talk it out - Magnus needed to make sure what was going on between them. Because Magnus did like Alec quite a bit, he has been growing on him for the past few weeks and Magnus could see this going somewhere  _ serious.  _ But unlike him, Alec had never been in a relationship, he was just in the process of coming out and it would completely make sense if he wouldn’t want to start a serious relationship quite yet. It was fair, but Magnus needed to know.

He needed to know because when he fell for someone, he didn’t fall for them slowly. No. He dove straight into it and there were a lot of times where he ended up falling flat on his stomach - getting hurt in the process and he just puffed his cheeks. So there were two things that they needed to discuss - if Alec truly did like him for  _ him _ and if they would start a relationship or not. And Magnus hoped that Alec at least liked him for him and not because he found out that he was the Prince of Edom.

Magnus wasn’t usually this self-conscious, but Alec kissed him right after he found out who he was - which kind of made sense, but at the same time it made Magnus also very nervous. He wanted to be liked for himself and not the illusion that his books created. Then again, Prince of Edom was  _ him _ more than M. A. Matthews ever was. Ugh. Magnus rolled his eyes and started walking around in circles, hoping that Alec was soon going to step out. He also hoped that Jace was going to take the news well. 

Half an hour went by and Alec was still in there, Magnus getting worried because… he didn’t hear much. He also didn’t want to pry, so he didn’t try listening to their conversation, but he was getting more and more uneasy. He expected Alec to be out within a few minutes, coming out all smiley and happy, but he wasn’t there and he was dreading the outcome of the phone call, biting into his lip. Ugh, if the idiot hurt him in any way, Magnus was going to go and talk to him personally. He knew where he lived, he was over at Alec’s, so he was just going to have to run and hide if he wouldn’t want to get his butt seriously kicked. 

A few more minutes passed and Magnus decided to have a look, to see why Alec was in there for such a long time, preparing for the worst and he slowly opened the door, peeking inside of the room and he found Alec, sitting on the couch and his eyes widened. Alec wasn’t speaking anymore, he was just sitting there, looking at his phone and…  _ there were tears rolling down his cheeks.  _ That was it, Magnus was going to make Jace swallow back all of the words that he said to him. Magnus opened the door wider and Alec slowly looked up and then took in a deep breath.

“Alexander,” whispered Magnus and Alec pressed his hands together. “Oh, I’m so sorry, I really thought he’d be supportive, I didn’t… I shouldn’t have left you alone in here,” said Magnus and Alec quickly shook his head because that wasn’t it. Oh, Jace was supportive, he was more supportive than Alec could have ever imagined. Jace spent fifteen minutes over the phone  _ crying  _ because of what Alec said to him. Because he was afraid that he’d hate him and that hurt Jace to that extent that it was just…

“Oh, he was,” said Alec and looked up, wiping away his tears and he puffed his cheeks. “He, um, he was very supportive. I-I hurt him,” said Alec and Magnus arched his brow because he didn’t get what  _ that _ meant. “I told him that-that I was afraid that he’d hate me and… I shouldn’t have,” said Alec and then puffed his cheeks. Magnus bit his lip and he smiled softly - those boys, both of them, were so soft. Good siblings. Adorable.

“You didn’t really mean it, did you?” asked Magnus and Alec shook his head. “You see? You were just in that state - I know and understand it. I was there once, Jace will understand that you didn’t really mean in like that,” said Magnus and his smile widened a little bit. He was glad that he was right about Alec’s brother - that he was a good young man! Alec slowly nodded again and he sniffled, looking over to Magnus when he sat down next to him and Magnus took in a deep breath.

Was this a good timing to talk about the kiss?

“I’ll make it up to him,” said Alec and then nodded again. “I still shouldn’t have said what I did and I’ll, um, I’ll go back to our place and apologise to him properly,” said Alec and then smiled softly because even so he was happy that Jace was so accepting. Alec was leaving? When? Now?! No, but they didn’t even talk about- “Yeah, I’ll invite him out for a couple of drinks, that will cheer him up,” said Alec and Magnus bit his lip.

The smile was not there anymore, Magnus looked sad and Alec cocked his head to the side.  _ Oh, no, what did he do now?!  _ Alec felt again bad and he just bit his lip. “You’re gonna leave now?” asked Magnus and Alec narrowed his eyes.

“Of course not, Magnus,” said Alec and Magnus smiled again.  _ Okay, good.  _ Phew! “What, you really thought I was gonna leave just like that?” asked Alec and Magnus shrugged and looked down, feeling a little bit shy. He overreacted as per usual. 

“No?”

Alec smiled and then leaned back. “So, um, w-where were we… before?”

“The kiss,” said Magnus and Alec giggled.

“Oh, boy… the kiss,” said Alec and Magnus glanced at him. Alec’s cheeks were red and he then placed his cold hands against his hot cheeks. “I can’t believe I kissed you,” said Alec and then shook his head.  _ Because he was the Prince of Edom?  _ “Holy shit, I’ve been wanting to do that ever since I started transcribing for you,” said Alec, his tongue completely untied because there was no way that he could hold himself back anymore and Magnus looked at him.  _ Oh, thank Goodness, Alec has been wanting to- _

“Really?” asked Magnus and Alec nodded.

“Yes,” said Alec. “You were a really bad influence on me, you know?” asked Alec and Magnus arched his brow. “With the writing and the book I borrowed from you - all I could imagine when I was reading was you and me… doing stuff,” said Alec and flushed up again. Magnus chuckled and he was quite… surprised how open Alec was to this conversation.

“You did now, huh?” asked Magnus and Alec nodded.

“I’m sorry, is it weird?”

“Gosh, I hope not, because I also imagined you and me in very different and compromising scenes,” said Magnus. “Doing all sorts of stuff,” he said and winked. Alec started laughing and he then just shook his head.  _ Oh he wasn’t the only one!  _ Well, he didn’t know! But he was glad that Magnus told him about it, it made him a lot better and he just shyly smiled when he looked over at Magnus, who was trying to ask Alec about  _ another _ thing. He was glad that they cleared the first issue up, but there was still- “So,” said Magnus and Alec nodded and glanced.

“So?” asked Alec because he didn’t know what to say or do next. He was ready to talk about anything Magnus wanted - he was there for it all. 

“About that kiss,” said Magnus and Alec’s cheeks heated up a little bit. “It’s, well… I mean,” said Magnus and then shook his head. “I mean a kiss could just be a kiss, but that certantly wasn’t just  _ a _ kiss, it was  _ the _ kiss, but it doesn’t mean, ugh, how should I put it?” asked Magnus and Alec cocked his head to the side. “It’s new for you, you just recently came out, well, you’re still in the process of coming out and it’s completely understandable if you wouldn’t want to start anything serious,” said Magnus and Alec rubbed the back of his neck.

_ He didn’t get it. _

__ “What do you mean?” asked Alec, almost as if he was afraid. Maybe he shouldn’t have kissed Magnus after all? Alec was biting on his lip and Magnus could tell that he was getting nervous. 

“I mean,” said Magnus. “You told me that you weren’t in a relationship before?” asked Magnus and Alec nodded. “See, this is exactly my point,” said Magnus and gave him a little smile. “As much as I do like you, I want to also not… force something serious on you if you’re not ready,” said Magnus and then chewed on his lip. “Believe me, it sucks even thinking about it, but if you want time or… you want to explore things with-” started Magnus and Alec’s eyes widened. 

Magnus was… serious? About what he was saying?

“Magnus,” said Alec and Magnus looked over at him, giving him a little smile and he then waited for Alec to say something. “You read my proposal to you, right?” asked Alec and then looked down. Magnus grinned and then he just shrugged. “I might not have experiences, but-but I know what I want,” said Alec and Magnus’ heart swell with joy. “And it’s you. Relationship, um, serious. Yes,” said Alec, his nervousness again getting the best of him and Magnus just nodded.

_ Good.  _

“If you’d want me,” added Alec and Magnus chuckled.

“Alexander, I never go back on my words. I mean you proposed and I said yes, basically,” said Magnus and started laughing when he saw the dopey smile on Alec’s face and he just reached out to Alec, holding his hand and Alec linked their fingers together. Alec was new to this, but so far, he was doing an amazing job! Giggling, Alec leaned against Magnus, who just cupped his face and pulled him gently for another kiss. 


	14. Chapter 14

“No, Cat, you don’t understand,” said Magnus and his friend hummed as she was slowly doing a check up on Magnus’ hand. Magnus was doing much better, his hand was already all healed up and this was going to be his last check up visit for it. After this, he wasn’t going to be needing bandages around his hand anymore, no nothing. His hand has recovered and he was free to go back to writing as much as he liked and prefered it. But, Magnus was somewhere completely different with his mind - he was just telling Catarina all about what happened just a few days before; the kiss and him and Alexander starting a relationship.  _ A serious relationship.  _ Oh, Magnus was just so excited and he wouldn’t talk about anything else lately, but it made Catarina smile. Magnus met someone that seemed lovely and that truly cared for him. Who would have thought that the cause of Magnus’ accident would lead him into meeting someone new, someone that was just-

“Hmm? Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that,” said Catarina and chuckled when she saw the look on Magnus’ face. “Sorry, I’m trying to focus on your hand here, you see?” asked Catarina and Magnus just chuckled and nodded. Right, his hand! The last check up! His hand was still feeling a little bit funny, but that was because it was resting for such a long time and he was glad that it healed completely. Still, he had much more important news for Catarina, who was a little bit distracted. 

“Right, right, my hand,” said Magnus and then slowly moved his fingers. “Oh, feels nice to not have it wrapped up anymore,” said Magnus and Catarina gave him a little smile and a nod. “So this is it? I’m back to okay?” asked Magnus happily and Catarina slowly pulled back a little bit and then she nodded again, happily leaning back in his chair and she then hummed. 

“Yes, you’ve recovered just perfectly,” said Catarina and Magnus happily clasped his hands together. “I’d still take it a bit easy to get your hand back in shape as it’s been resting for a little while, but I think that after a week, you’ll be able to type just normally,” said Catarina and Magnus happily smiled, turning his hand around in his lap and he flexed his fingers again. It was definitely to have his hand back to normal. “So, what were you trying to explain to me before? That Alec is a fan of Prince of Edom?” she asked and winked. She was listening - kind of - but she didn’t catch the most important thing of it all. 

Not only that Alec was a fan of Prince of Edom since the very beginning, but he managed to recognise his current writing and connect him to him being the Prince. Alexander was just so amazing; his attention to detail when he was reading was remarkable and it just touched Magnus’ heart because nobody has been able to connect him to the Prince before and he thought that nobody cared about his previous writing. But there was Alexander, who came into his life and changed his belief completely. It was kind of… it still surprised Magnus just how much Alec changed him and it was a change that was definitely for the better. 

The fact that Alec was a fan of Prince of Edom was amazing to Catarina enough. Nobody appreciated Magnus before, which was such a shame. Unlike the others, Cat actually liked his writing before - maybe even more than his current works - and Magnus knew about that. And it was really discouraging to see people buying his current works more than his previous ones. But then again, it showed that people did like Magnus’ writing, he just didn’t have luck before. Catarina was trying to show him that, but Magnus took it the wrong way, but maybe Alec managed to make him see that his writing was appreciated for real. At least she hoped that Magnus managed to open his eyes and see that. And just what were the chances of Magnus meeting his superfan like that?

It was all the universe - bringing them together. Catarina did believe in coincidences, but this wasn’t a coincidence. The two of them meeting seemed more like faith, Cat smiling at her own thoughts and she then looked back at Magnus, who was getting ready to tell her the complete story again. Usually he would be annoyed if he wasn’t being listened to, but he didn’t mind telling this story twice or three times. Heck, he was going to be telling it multiple times and he was loving every time that he got to tell it. 

“Yes, but there’s more to that, Cat,” said Magnus and he then bit his lip, making a little pause and then he opened his mouth again. “He knew it was me, Cat! He borrowed a book from me a few weeks prior to that and he managed to recognise my writing! He could tell that I was the Prince of Edom even before he knew it for sure. He didn’t say much because he wanted to make sure,” said Magnus and Catarina’s eyes widened.  _ For real now?  _ That was just- 

“Really?!”

“Y-yes,” said Magnus and his cheeks might have been a shade or two darker than before and Catarina chuckled, but was still in awe. “I honestly don’t know how he managed to do it. I-I guess he just really liked those three books that I published under my previous pen name,” said Magnus and then chewed on his lip and shook his head. “He told me that my writing is breathtaking and that he could recognise it everywhere,” he mumbled and then glanced down.

Magnus’ writing has been recognised quite a few times - under his current pen name his works won even quite a few awards, which meant a lot to Magnus, but it made him also believe that his previous writing was really worthless. But to have someone  _ recognise _ his writing and that one being Alec was just so overwhelming for him, his cheeks red and he didn’t even hide the fact that he was flushing. Catarina chuckled when she saw the look on Magnus’ face.  _ Oh, he liked the attention.  _

Magnus always liked attention, but it was different this time, she could tell and she just smiled and then shook her head. “That’s truly amazing, Magnus. But see, we’ve all been telling you how good your writing is. You should give yourself more credit and it wasn’t the writing that was the reason for the lack of sales in your books. It was because people didn’t appreciate you and also your previous company was shit at promoting your things and events,” said Catarina and Magnus took a deep breath. Yeah, could be a reason. “It’s also the reason why nobody came to your meet and greet,” she said and Magnus looked at her.

Magnus rubbed the back of his neck and then he shrugged. Maybe it was also true. Catarina was quite honestly convinced that it was true, though, because even if Magnus didn’t make much sales and if he didn’t have many fans, there would still be people showing up if the whole thing was taken seriously by them. “Perhaps, yes,” said Magnus and shrugged. “Back then social media wasn’t really as big as it is today and I also wasn’t really active there,” said Magnus, humming. Now he had his spare account for his writing, on which he made sure that he posted little snippets and teasers, which made his fans excited for his future releases. Also it was a great way for him to stay connected with his readers and it was just… yes, maybe Cat was onto something.

“That’s also true, but they had that event plastered on the very bottom of their website and nobody really even knew that they had a website in the first place,” said Catarina and shook her head. Magnus gave her a little smile and nodded. Yes, now that she put it like that, maybe it wasn't his fault after all. But it didn’t matter to him anymore, he had put it behind him and he just chewed on his lip. “Don’t you think this is like destiny bringing you guys together?” she asked and winked.

“Hmm?” asked Magnus and a little smile of amusement spread across his face. “You think?” he asked and then snorted. 

“What are the chances, though? Of you being his favourite writer since forever and then the two of you falling in love like that,” said Catarina and happily sighed. “Yes, I do like to think that the universe set you two together. Soulmates,” she said and Magnus just started laughing. It did feel and sound like that, but again, Magnus didn’t want to get ahead of himself. Yes, Alec said that he was all in for a serious relationship, but given it was his first one, Magnus was going to take it nice and slow. 

Steady pace. 

“You have a point,” said Magnus in the end and just winked.  _ Nice and steady, yes, but it was nice to believe that they were actually soulmates!  _ “Soulmates, mm, I do like the sound of that,” said Magnus and Catarina gave him a little wink. Magnus took in a deep breath and then glanced up to the wall where Catarina had her clock. Just two more hours and Alec would be finishing with his classes and coming over to his place! Magnus happily smiled and was already feeling all giddy inside.

He couldn’t wait to spend more time with his  _ boyfriend! _

* * *

Alec was standing outside of Magnus’ loft and was preparing himself to knock on the door. He was finished with his classes earlier that day as the last set of classes got cancelled so he headed straight over to Magnus’. He was just so excited to see him again and that was the only thing that he could focus on while he was at university. He didn’t get much notes done and it was good for his friend, who agreed to let him copy his own ones for this one time! Thank Goodness and Alec promised to himself that he would make it up to him! 

So, there he was, standing in front of Magnus’ apartment, but it felt a lot different this time because this time he was going to be coming over as a boyfriend and not a friend and he was just trying to make sure that his hair looked good. He was in a hurry to get over to Magnus’ place, taking out his phone and he turned on his camera, fixing his hair immediately because it looked like he had a bird nest there on top of his head and he just huffed under his breath and he shook his head.

Oh, he bet that Magnus would be able to pull off that look - that messy hair look would look so amazing on him! Alec flushed a little bit when he thought of Magnus with a messy and he knew exactly how Magnus’ hair would get messy - Alec’s fingers in his hair while they would be kissing. Alec gulped and he just took in a deep breath.  _ Right, he needed to get his mind out of the gutter!  _ But all that he could think about was kissing Magnus - how were they supposed to get any work done that day?! Alec bit his lip and promised to himself that he was going to be good and professional until the writing would be done for today and he his heart jumped a little bit. 

Alec was still in the process of getting ready to actually knock on the door when he heard the elevator coming up behind him, but he didn’t really think of it too much as he was too busy with practicing how he was going to greet Magnus. “Do I just go in for a kiss or do I wait for it?” asked Alec, rubbing the back of his neck and he huffed under his breath. “No, just know and act like a sane human being.” Alec nodded and then hummed again. “Maybe it’ll seem cold if I just go:  _ hi Magnus, how are you? _ ” asked Alec. “Maybe tell him that I missed him,” said Alec and nodded. 

What was normal? Not a handshake - it was too formal! Oh, a hug though! That was like a good plan! Alec was still talking to himself when someone suddenly stepped behind him and Alec yelped on top of his lungs when he felt a hand on top of his shoulder. “Alexander, what are you-” started Magnus, but then saw that he gave Alec quite a bad scare and he quickly stepped back and Alec quickly turned around, in his defence mode, but when he saw Magnus behind him, his eyes just widened and he just-

“Magnus!” piped up Alec. “Y-you’re here! Why?!” asked Alec and his cheeks reddened.  _ Oh, he hoped that Magnus didn’t hear him before! _

Magnus chuckled and then cocked his head to the side. “Well, I do happen to live here,” said Magnus and grinned. “I’m coming back from my check up,” he said and showed his hand to Alec, whose eyes widened a little bit. Oh, it wasn’t wrapped up anymore! Did that mean Magnus was back to okay? Oh, Alec was happy! “I should be asking you this, though. We’re meeting in an hour and a half, you’re kind of early?” asked Magnus and Alec glanced down.

“I missed you,” muttered Alec and Magnus narrowed his eyes, but he just-

“You’re skipping classes?” asked Magnus and crossed his arms on top of his chest. As much as he was happy that Alec was there and to hear that he was missed, he also didn’t want Alexander to be skipping classes in order to be seeing him!

“Oh, no,” said Alec quickly. “Some of my classes got cancelled, so I decided to come early. I didn’t text because I wanted to surprise you,” said Alec and glanced down. “Am I too early? I-I’ll come back if you want some more free time,” said Alec. “Will make a few circles around the block and-” he started, but Magnus reaching out to hold his hand and pulling him closer made him stop talking and Magnus just laughed and shook his head.

“Alexander, you dork,” said Magnus and gulped, feeling his heart jumping as well when they were standing so close to each other. “Of course I’m happy to have you over. I missed you too,” said Magnus. Magnus linked their fingers together and then looked towards the door, slowly tugging on Alec’s hand as he was dragging him inside, unlocking the door. “Let’s go inside, hmm?” asked Magnus softly and Alec quickly nodded, gulping. 

Oh, yes, inside was good - just him and Magnus. Doing… stuff? Alec’s eyes widened a little bit and his cheeks reddened.  _ He couldn’t believe that it was the first thing that he managed to think about!  _ Alec cleared his throat and then followed Magnus inside in complete silence. Magnus was smiling as he was watching Alec with the corner of his eye and he just chuckled - in fact, he heard everything before. Alec’s monologue and it was adorable, but he wasn’t going to say anything about it as he didn’t want to scare Alexander away. But it was adorable and he slowly closed the door and then turned around, Alec stiffly standing there and he just chuckled.

“Alexander, stop thinking so much and just relax. We’ve literally hung out so many times before, it’s not really different than before. I mean-”

“It is,” said Alec and then rubbed the back of his head. “I-I mean this is the first time coming over here as-as your boyfriend. I’m allowed to be a little bit nervous,” said Alec and Magnus bit his lip. Oh, he was too adorable and precious. Still, he wished that he would find a way to make Alec relaxed. Magnus knew how he felt though, it was the same for him and he moved closer to Alec and just held his hand again and guided him towards the… living room! Alec’s face reddened -  _ so they weren’t going to be working! _

“Let’s just sit down and hang out like this,” said Magnus, tapping to the spot next to him, desperate to make Alec feel laid back and Alec slowly nodded and finally sat down next to Magnus, but he was still awfully on edge and Magnus grinned softly and leaned towards Alec. “So, tell me about your day, how were classes?” asked Magnus and Alec looked to him and then he smiled.

“Fine, I think, I didn’t really pay attention,” blurted out Alec and Magnus frowned.

“Alexander, it’s important to pay attention,” said Magnus and Alec shrugged it off.

“I-it’s because I couldn’t stop thinking about you,” said Alec and his cheeks reddened even more. Magnus bit his lip and he really tried not to smile too much. Oh, this wasn’t good, he was a bad influence, but at the same time it made him happy.  _ It was the same for him, he was only talking about Alec that day!  _ “But don’t worry, I’ll copy notes from my friend for this one time. And will pay attention next time,” said Alec, almost as if it was a promise and Magnus chuckled.

“Good,” said Magnus. “While I was over at Cat, I also couldn’t stop talking about you,” said Magnus and gave Alec a little wink. Alec smiled when he heard that. Oh, right! Catarina Loss! Alec again looked towards Magnus’ hand that used to be injured and very gently wrapped both of his palms around it and Magnus smiled when he felt Alec’s thumb gently caressing the back of his palm and he couldn’t fight back another smile from spreading across his lips. Alec was just so gentle.

“Your hand is okay?”

“Mmm, yes,” said Magnus, humming in agreement. “Cat said that I’m all back to normal,” said Magnus and Alec smiled, but then his smile faltered just a little bit.

“Huh, I guess then you won’t be needing me to help you with the writing anymore?” asked Alec and Magnus’ eyes widened. That didn’t even cross his mind if he was being honest and he just shook his head. Oh, he would still very much like Alexander coming over like this to help him with writing. But instead of writing, they should also be doing other…  _ couple _ related stuff. Like going out on dates and things like that.

“Of course I’d still like that,” said Magnus and then shifted a bit closer over to Alec, cupping his face gently and Alec smiled. “You sure it’s okay though? Now it was only a bit over a month, but won’t you be having reports, assignments and exams coming up for uni?” asked Magnus and Alec puffed his cheeks. Yes, that was true, but he still wanted to be there! Helping Magnus. 

“It’s true. And it’s not fair, I don’t want exams, I just want to spend time with you,” said Alec and Magnus chuckled. Oh, yes, he knew that feeling. Especially at the first of the very first relationship and he pressed a kiss on top of Alec’s forehead and he pulled back a little bit. “What if I come here to study?” asked Alec and Magnus chuckled.

“You think you’ll be able to focus on studying?” asked Magnus and Alec flushed.

“Y-yes,” said Alec and Magnus’ smile was growing. “I think,” he carried on and then he shrugged. “Probably not,” said Alec and Magnus gave him a little smile. “But I still wanna see you,” said Alec and pouted. 

“Of course, I want to see you too,” said Magnus. “But you mustn't forget about your studies and your friends and things like this,” said Magnus and Alec nodded. Yep, that sounded like good advice because all he wanted to do now was to be with Magnus and not be a productive member of society  _ at all.  _ “But Cat told me to take it easy and the deadline is this Friday and I think I’ll still be needing help till then,” said Magnus and winked. Alec quickly cheered up.

Oh, yes, he could do that! The book was kind of  _ their _ baby and Alec was very interested in being the one to finish it for Magnus. “Yes, I’d like that,” said Alec happily and Magnus gave him a little wink. “And then we can go on a date on Saturday or something like that,” said Alec and Magnus happily nodded.

“Saturday is perfect. We are going to celebrate our book being finished,” said Magnus and Alec chuckled. Oh, he liked the sound of that -  _ their  _ book. “I’ll make sure to add in a little personal memo for you,” said Magnus and Alec looked down and felt his cheeks heating up again. Magnus then reminded himself that he had something for Alec and he quickly stood up. 

“Wait up, I have actually a little surprise for you,” said Magnus and Alec was happily waiting for him to come back. Alec saw Magnus going to the direction of his office and he was back quickly, holding something in his hand and he then took a deep breath. “Okay, close your eyes,” said Magnus and Alec arched his brow, but didn’t question it. “And give me your hand,” said Magnus.

Alec smiled, closing his eyes and then he extended out his palm. Magnus smiled and then placed an USB stick into Alec’s hand - to him it wasn’t much, but he knew that it was going to mean the world to Alec because on it there were  _ all _ of the books that he wrote as the Prince of Edom. “Can I open them now?” asked Alec because he could feel the item in his hand, but he couldn’t really make out what it was.

“Yes,” said Magnus and stepped in front of Alec, who was still sitting and Alec looked down to his hand and then looked up at Magnus. “It’s just a little something for you,” said Magnus, biting on his lip. “On it there’s all of the Prince of Edom books, even the ones that never got published,” muttered Magnus and Alec’s eyes widened when the realisation finally hit him and he squeezed the USB tightly in his palm and he looked up at Magnus, who was sheepishly smiling. “I hope you’ll like them, I know it’s not much, but-” he started, but Alec stood up, tucked the USB stick safely into his backpack and he then stepped to Magnus and wrapped his arms around him.

“I’ll love them, thank you so much,” said Alec because he couldn’t believe that this was really happening. When they  _ talked _ the last time, Alec didn’t really have the opportunity to ask Magnus about the books. Also he didn’t want to pressure him, so he just didn’t ask if he could read them.  _ But now Magnus was giving them to him willingly.  _ Alec teared up and as he broke their hug, he gave Magnus a long kiss.

Magnus smiled when they pulled away and he looked up only to see Alec tearing up and Magnus quickly reached up and he cupped his face. “Oh, there’s no need to cry, Alexander, it’s just-”

“I’ve been waiting for these for eight years plus,” said Alec and Magnus’ heart swell up because he could tell how much this meant to Alec. “I was trying to figure out what happened, I wrote to your company, I tried to find you but I couldn’t and-and now you’re like here, in my arms,” said Alec and Magnus kissed him softly again. 

_ Alexander searched for him!  _

“Yes, you’ve found me,” said Magnus happily and Alec just kissed him again. 

Oh, he couldn’t wait to read those two remaining books! This was the best day ever!


	15. Chapter 15

“Alec, you sure you don’t want to come out with us for lunch?” asked Underhill and Alec looked over to his friend. The classes had just finished for the day - it was Friday and he was soon going to be coming over to Magnus as the two of them would be finishing up with their book that day.  _ Magnus’  _ book, but Alec liked thinking that it was part of his as well. After all, he was invested in it every day for the past month and a bit and it was just… very exciting to be finishing it and then it was soon going to be published! Ragnor was also very much in awe that Magnus managed to finish up his book and now just the epilogue was supposed to be written. They could have finished it the day before, but Magnus was saving it up for Friday and Alec was just so excited about it all. 

But what he was excited more about was the date that was going to be happening the next day; Saturday was coming and Alec still wasn’t mentally prepared for the date with Magnus, but at the same time he knew that it was going to end well! Well, he hoped. He did a ton of research about it - he read a lot of internet articles about first dates and he also made sure to ask both Izzy and Jace about first dates. Of course they both started asking him a lot of things, but Alec didn’t tell them much. He just told them that he was just purely researching how the dating world worked, but both of them knew that it was more than just that. Still they shared their wisdom with Alec and he was just…  _ couldn’t figure out how he should approach it at all!  _

Putting all of the dating problems aside, Alec had already started reading the books that Magnus had given to him the previous day and he was almost done with the fourth book among the series and it was just amazing. He thought that the previous three were amazing, but the fourth one just made him fall in love with the Prince of Edom and Magnus more. There were a lot more serious topics discussed inside of them and it made him wonder if maybe that was also the reason why they never got published. 

Alec was reading just the previous evening how lonely Magnus was at a certain part of his life and he could just relate to him so much - before meeting his friends. In it Alec could easily now recognise Catarina and Ragnor and the third, grumpy friend was Raphael. He still didn’t meet him in person, but Magnus would talk to him on a few occasions and it sounded a lot like him. After he met them, Magnus was in a much better place, but it made Alec wonder; if those friends were true, then maybe all that happened to  _ Prince of Edom  _ was true as well? Oh, it was just… Alec was going to have to ask Magnus about it, but still - even though the scenes were a lot more serious, there was still that  _ hope. _

Yes, the Prince had to go through a lot of obstacles, but at the end of the day it all ended well - just like all the previous books, there was hope in there and it made Alec feel a lot better. That, plus Magnus and his friends were going out on these amazing adventures, running around Edom, saving people and it was just so cool to read about it. He couldn’t wait to reach the last book, but at the same time, he didn’t want the books to end. What was he supposed to do once he would reach the end of the series? Well, the answer was quite obvious - start them again!

Alec was again zoning out and he quickly shook his head and then he looked over to the side where Underhill was still waiting for his reply and he just chewed on his lip. Right, he didn’t listen to his friend again and he felt terrible because it was because of Underhill that he got notes for that day  _ and the few next ones.  _ With all that was going on in Alec’s life, it was really hard for him to focus on his studies and he then cleared his throat and he finally decided that it was his time to be a good friend as well and he just clasped his hands together. The last thing before zoning out that he heard was Underhill talking about being hungry so maybe he wanted to go grab some lunch with Alec?

“Excuse me?” asked Alec in the end and Underhill rolled his eyes, but then he started laughing. His friend was kind of distant for the past few days and it made him wonder what was up. Alec was constantly zoning out or even if he had his computer out during the classes, he wasn’t taking notes -  _ why?  _ He was reading something, but he wouldn’t tell him what it was and Underhill just pouted and then he shook his head and then started putting his things into his backpack as it was time for them to get out of the lecture room. New classes were about to start.

“I was just wondering if you want to go with me to grab some lunch,” said Underhill in the end and Alec looked at him and then nodded.  _ Right, he thought that he asked him that!  _ Alec hummed and then he looked at the clock. Well, he was supposed to be going over to Magnus’! But then he reminded himself what Magnus told him - that he shouldn’t forget about his friends and personal life. Even if it was very tempting to be spending all the time with Magnus, it was true. Also - not to mention - that it was Underhill that lent him all those notes and he just chewed on his lip. 

“Well, I kind of had plans,” said Alec and Underhill groaned.

“Again?” he whined and shook his head. He knew that his friend had a job that was always after classes and he was happy for him, but it wasn’t as fun to be going out to lunch all on his own. Yes, he had company every now and then, but much like Alec, he also didn’t like many people and he didn’t have that many friends. “Fine, I’ll go alone. Again. Poor me,” he said and then he shook his head and bowed his head down. Alec arched his brow and then he realised what the other was doing.

“You’re trying to guilt trip me into going with you, aren’t you?” asked Alec and started cracking up when Underhill looked at him.

“Yeah. Is it working?” asked Underhill and in the end Alec finally realised that maybe the meeting with Magnus could be postponed for about an hour or so. He was negletic his friendship very much and he realised that he probably owed Underhill an apology and he just snorted and then nodded.

“Okay,” said Alec and then hummed. “I will just text Magnus and tell him that I’ll be a bit later than usual,” said Alec and Underhill perked up. It was the first time that Alec really mentioned Magnus, so he didn’t know who it was, but he figured it was the writer that he worked for? Underhill gave him a little smile and then nodded.

“Your boss?” he asked curiously and Alec flushed.

_ Boss?  _ Oh, that sounded not really… good. Magnus wasn’t his boss, he was his boyfriend and even if he wasn’t yet out to his friend, but he also just couldn’t lie and just tell Underhill that Magnus was his  _ boss.  _ “Well, uh, not exactly, no,” said Alec and Underhill arched his brow, but in the end he just decided to let it go because at the end of it all, it didn’t really matter. If Alec wanted to tell him, then he was going to come to him and tell him about stuff. Alec was known to not really want to share too many things and Underhill was also a lot like this - that was why the two of them got along so well. 

Alec took his phone out of his bag and sent Magnus a short text, telling him that he was going to be a little bit later than usual - but it seemed that the lunch with Underhill was a good idea after all! Magnus was also out for lunch, but he was out with Ragnor and a few other people. It was actually a meeting, they were discussing things about Magnus’ new book and it was all very exciting. Magnus told him that he should be done in an hour or so, also feeling terrible but when he heard that Alec had plans as well, it all worked out perfectly and Alec had a bright smile on his face because Magnus told him that he had very exciting news - alas, they would have to be picking out the cover for the book and with the main idea already going around, a few different ideas were already sketched!

The exciting part of it all? Magnus told Alec that he would also have a say in it - which one was getting picked and Alec was just so… honoured. While it was true that he typed quite a big portion of Magnus’ book, it was also true that it was still Magnus’ work and to be given such an important task - it was pressure, but Alec liked it and in the end he just sighed happily, placed the phone back into his backpack and he glanced towards his friend, who was curiously looking at him. Alec smiled and then nodded.

“Okay, let’s grab something to eat,” said Alec and Underhill happily smiled.

“Yay,” said Underhill and then hummed. “The usual place?” he asked and Alec nodded - yes, the usual place sounded like a good place. It was just around the corner and it would also give him the time to reach Magnus’ place in time - he didn’t want to lose any more time after all! Alec chuckled and then followed Underhill out of the building, both of them chatting on their way to their favourite pizza place.

Not going to lie, Alec was starving and lunch with Underhill did sound like an amazing plan!

* * *

“So how’s your job like? I mean you’re an editor of sorts or?” asked Underhill because he was very interested in it. Alec didn’t have much free time lately, so whatever it was, it took up all of his free time and Alec seemed to be really enjoying himself. Alec looked up and then in the end he nodded and then hummed. Yes, an editor of sorts. Maybe it was time for him to be finally telling his friends and others the full truth? Alec rubbed the back of his neck and in the end he nodded.

“Well. Kind of,” said Alec. “I am transcribing a book for a writer, yes,” said Alec and Underhill’s eyes widened.  _ Alec was their typer?  _ Oh, that was kind of unusual, but also very interesting. “It’s a long story. I was in a hurry to get to classes and I bumped into an author. His hand got injured and he had a deadline coming up for his book. I felt very bad about it and decided to be his own personal typer for the rest of the month as it was a dick move of me to not watch where I was going,” said Alec in the end - finally telling the truth and Underhill’s eyes widened even a bit more. 

“Oh gosh, I hope they’re okay?” asked Underhill and Alec gave him a little nod. “Well, that does… sound like a good idea. I mean I would have done the same, offer to be their typer instead,” said Underhill and Alec just gave him a little nod and he then smiled, eating his pizza.  _ Yep, it was definitely the best one in the city for sure!  _ “By the way,” said Underhill and Alec looked at him. “I mean if you don’t mind - who are you working for, so to speak?” he asked because he was really interested.

Just like Alec, he was a literature student and working for or with a writer was always an exciting idea to him. Alec narrowed his eyes - right, he didn’t really tell anyone who he was working for and he rubbed the back of his neck. M. A. Matthews was quite a big name, he learned that quite early on, but at the same time Underhill didn’t really seem like the type to be reading romance novels and he hummed. Maybe it was okay if he told him? They were quite good friends and he eventually spoke up. 

“Well,” said Alec. “I mean you have to promise me that you won’t tell anyone,” said Alec and Underhill’s eyes widened. Oh, that meant that it was a famous one?! 

“It’s someone famous!”

“Yes,” said Alec and then chuckled. Underhill was excited and he quickly cleared his throat and then made another pause. As much as he wanted to tell his friend who it was, he didn’t know if he should. Magnus made sure that he kept his identity a secret, so Alec decided not to really tell Underhill who it was - yet. In the end he just leaned back against his chair and then hummed. “He’s very famous in the department of romance novels,” said Alec in the end and Underhill felt a little bit deflated.

Oh, he really thought that his friend would tell him who it was. Underhill wasn’t really a big fan of romance novels himself, but he knew someone who was and he just shook his head. But if it was someone famous then maybe it was for the best that the word didn’t get out too much? Underhill wouldn’t tell others because he knew how to keep a secret, but still he knew where Alec was coming from for not wanting to reveal his full identity. 

“You really won’t tell me who it is then, huh?” asked Underhill and Alec shrugged.

“It’s not my place, he wants his identity to be hidden, so I don’t know how much I can or cannot tell,” said Alec and Underhill just nodded and then he just hummed. 

“Well since I’m not really reading much romance novels, I doubt I would know who it is,” said Underhill and then his smile widened just a little bit. “I’m pretty sure that Marcel would be able to recognise him though. I mean he loves romance novels so much,” he said and he just chuckled. 

“Who’s Marcel?” suddenly asked Alec and Underhill quickly stopped talking and Alec arched his brow. It was true that the two of them didn’t really spend much time together in the past month other than in the classes, but at the same time…  _ he never mentioned anyone named Marcel to him!  _ Was it a new friend? Alec was curiously watching his friend, who was thinking about how he should tell the other one who this Marcel person was and when Underhill was finally sure on what kind of a status he should put on his relationship with the person he just proudly stated-

“A friend,” said Underhill, but there was something more behind those words and Alec cocked his head to the side and just nodded eventually. Okay, a friend… huh? “Yes, a friend,” said Underhill in the end and Alec just laughed because he found it kind of weird how Underhlll said it - as if he was trying to convince himself and not Alec that Marcel was his friend. 

“I just ask because you haven’t really mentioned him before,” said Alec, not really thinking much of it, sipping on his beer then and Underhill looked at him again.

“Oh, yeah, we met at the library two weeks ago,” said Underhill and Alec nodded. 

A lot happened while he was spending all his time at Magnus’, huh? Well, he was going to make sure that he was going to make up for the lost time and he just happily glanced towards his phone and his smile widened when he got a text from Magnus, telling him that he was already all done with the meeting and Alec glanced down upon his empty plate. Alec was about to apologise to Underhill for leaving too soon, but Underhill’s phone buzzed and apparently he had plans in an hour as well.

So it all worked out in the end!

* * *

Alec found out that he had a new favourite way to pass the time - making out. As much as he loved reading, nothing could compare to making out with Magnus, it was heavenly. There they were, in Magnus’ living room, sitting on the couch, lips locked and were slowly kissing. The book was written, Alec helped Magnus to help the concept for the cover of the book and with everything finally being finished up, it was time for some TLC and relaxation. Magnus couldn’t agree more with the way Alec was thinking, happily kissing his boyfriend back. Ah, it was amazing.

Magnus was beyond happy and proud with himself for finally finishing up the book. He was pretty sure that if he wouldn’t run into Alec (no pun intended) that the book wouldn’t be finished yet, he would be needing an extra month at least, but with Alec’s help he managed to do it, happily humming along the kiss and he breathlessly laughing when he felt Alec’s lips slowly pulling back a little bit. Magnus didn’t really give him the time to recover and he grabbed Alec by the back of his neck and he just pulled him right back in, crushing their lips together.

Alec was quite the fast learner - his kisses were still clumsy a little bit, but he managed to find out pretty quickly what Magnus liked and those were those particularly long, lingering and deep kisses, which made Magnus’ head spin and with Alec kissing him like that, he doubted he could ever get enough of it, catching a little breath as he pulled back, but this time it was Alec that needed more, shyly darting his tongue out and he licked across Magnus’ lower lip and gained a little gasp from him.

The little gasps and moans that Magnus would make when they were kissing were adorable. Alec, on the other hand, was much more louder and  _ very  _ responsive to every new thing that Magnus introduced him to. Nice and slow, making sure that Alec was always comfortable with how things were going and he laughed breathlessly when he felt Alec’s kisses getting needy and hungry. An idea popped into Magnus’ mind and he slowly pulled back a little bit, but kissed Alec right after, catching Alec off guard and he took that as the perfect time to gently sink his teeth into Alec’s lower lip, gently sucking on it and Alec just-

“Oh, God, Magnus,” groaned Alec and Magnus was smiling all the way up to his ears. “How-how did you do that?” asked Alec, making Magnus laugh loudly and he just pouted. “That felt good, do it again,” said Alec and Magnus hummed, giving him a little wink, but instead for his lips, he decided to explore Alexander’s yummy neck. It was just so long and yummy, he wanted to run his tongue over it and-

“Is this okay?” asked Magnus as he pressed a little kiss against Alexander’s neck and the other quickly nodded.

“Yes.”

Oh, it was more than okay, Alec’s eyes slipping shut and he tilted his head to the side a little bit so that Magnus could have better access. Magnus smiled and pressed in a few more kisses over Alec’s neck, each growing longer and wetter, adding in a few teasing licks and he then chuckled softly, that deep chuckle making Alec groan. It was so hot, fuck! “Still okay?” asked Magnus, whispering into Alec’s ear and Alec swallowed thickly.

“Oh, fuck, yes,” said Alec, gasping and buried his fingers into Magnus’ hair and pressed him closer. “More?” asked Alec and Magnus smiled.

“With pleasure,” said Magnus, kissing his way up to Alec’s jaw, but before he managed to reach his lips, his lips fell right back down onto Alec’s neck. Alec felt like he was floating, he was just… gosh, everything that Magnus kissed and touched felt so, so good and he bit his lip when he felt Magnus’ tongue doing wonders against his neck and Magnus was growing hungrier when he listened Alec moaning out like that.

“Magnus, ah, don’t stop,” said Alec in between his little moans and Magnus gave him a little smile. Alec’s moans were delicious, the way he was chanting out his name like this was beyond him and he sucked the skin on Alec’s neck hard and when he opened his eyes he saw that he left a mark. That worked like a cold shower on him and he quickly pulled back, but Alec didn’t seem to mind it and he pouted when the weight of Magnus’ body was suddenly gone. 

“Shit,” said Magnus.

“No, why did you stop?” whined Alec. 

“Sorry, I-I got carried away a little bit,” said Magnus and Alec arched his brow and quickly sat back up onto the couch. That wasn’t getting carried away in Alec’s opinion. “I left a mark, I’m sorry, I didn’t-” started Alec and Alec’s hand immediately went up to his neck and he smiled.  _ Alec smiled?  _

“You did? Oh, that’s hot,” said Alec and Magnus sighed in relief. “Means I’m yours,” announced Alec happily and waggled his eyebrows.  _ Oh, Alexander really wasn’t as innocent as Magnus made himself believe that he was.  _

“You sure? I can lend you a scarf or-”

“Of course I’m sure,” said Alec and then happily snuggled closer to Magnus and wrapped an arm around him and pulled him closer. “You know I might not have ever been in a relationship, but my mind is down the gutter quite frequently,” said Alec and Magnus started laughing. Yeah, he was too paranoid himself, perhaps. He just wanted to give Alec the best experience of all of his firsts. 

“Okay. Still tell me if there’s something you don’t like,” said Magnus.

“Of course,” said Alec and then smiled. “You’re too far away from me, I don’t like it,” said Alec and Magnus just rolled his eyes in a very fond way and he just scooted closer to Alec, so that they were closer to each other and he smiled again. “You know,” started Alec.

“Mmm?”

“I almost finished the fourth book,” said Alec and Magnus quickly looked at him.

“Y-yeah? Is it any good?” asked Magnus and Alec chuckled. 

“I love them, so much,” said Alec and Magnus happily smiled. “It’s amazing, everything is amazing,” said Alec and Magnus relaxed.  _ Phew.  _

“You’re the first one to read them beside me,” said Magnus and Alec’s heart jumped to his throat. “I was always too afraid to show them to anyone,” said Magnus.

“Not even to Ragnor?”

“He doesn’t know about them,” said Magnus and Alec’s heart swell even more.  _ The sheer honour that he had to be only one to read those!  _ Alec felt so special and he just pressed his forehead up against Magnus’ and he smiled happily.  _ And tomorrow - finally the date!  _

But Alec was also kind of nervous - it was the first time that they would be leaving their little happy bubble of Magnus’ loft as a couple. It was going to be their first time out as a couple and Alec was both very excited and nervous about it. Magnus and Alec discussed it at full lenght - Alec wasn't technically out to the world, so Magnus made it very clear for him to know that it was okay if there wasn't any public display of affection. Magnus wasn't going to push it, but if Alec would feel comfortable enough, Magnus would of course love to hold his hand in public. Or to even kiss him! Alec was just so blessed that Magnus was so patient with him, he was really the best boyfriend ever.


	16. Chapter 16

“Jace, how do I look?” asked Alec as he was standing in front of Jace. It was Saturday and he was getting ready to go out. It was finally the day of his and Magnus’ first date and he was just so very excited and nervous about it. He didn’t Jace tell where he was going, but he had a feeling that his brother was soon going to find out anyway as Alec needed some opinion on his clothes. He was wearing some black jeans, which he paired up with a blue bottom up shirt and a jacket, which matched the pants. He didn’t know if it was a good look, but he liked how he looked in those clothes. Also, he made sure that he combed his usually messy hair - he spent an hour in the bathroom just getting ready and he realised that it wasn’t as easy as he first imagined it to be - getting ready for the date. It was a lot of work - he wanted to look good for Magnus.

Alec washed his hair, he shaved and he brushed his hair… twice. He also took a long shower, making sure that he was going to look and smell good for his first date, but the shower didn’t really help as he was already sweating like crazy.  _ Ugh, if he could just calm down his nerves, it would be marvellous.  _ But, no, it was his first date ever - he decided that the one with Lydia didn’t really count - it was the first date that really mattered and he just cleared his throat, straightening his clothes as he was looking over to his brother. Jace was sitting there on the couch, glancing up and down Alec and he then whistled.

Jace didn’t really know where Alec was going, but he looked fancy. And Alec didn’t really put a lot of work in his outer appearance, but that day, he was in the bathroom for a very long time and Jace had a little hunch where Alec was going. He was asking things about first dates the other day and Jace just smiled…  _ was Alec going out on a date?  _ Jace suddenly felt like a proud parent because Alec didn’t get out much, but now he was getting ready to leave the apartment and go on a date! Oh, it was so exciting even for Jace!

Jace just whistled and then nodded. “Looking good, buddy, where are you going?” asked Jace and Alec glanced down a little bit and he then just took in a deep breath. Well, he didn’t really know if it was okay for him to be bragging that he was going on a date, but then again Jace was bragging about his dates all the time. But also, Alec didn’t want to jinx things, so he decided not to mention the date part to Jace, but it was kind of impossible… Alec had a feeling that Jace already knew anyway.

“Just going out,” said Alec and Jace waggled his eyebrows.

“On a date,” pointed it out Jace and Alec jumped and then looked over at Jace. Even if he knew that Jace knew, he was still surprised. Ugh, was it really so easy for the others to read him like an open book? It was kind of annoying, but at the same time, it made some aspects of life easier and in the end Alec just slowly nodded. He was too excited about it to keep on lying and pretending that it wasn’t a date and Jace just happily clasped his hands together and then he stood up.

Jace could feel that things changed between him and Alec since the other decided to come out to him. Jace always had a feeling that there was something huge that Alec wasn’t telling him, but he could never figure out what it was and when he read that blog post, he felt like the biggest moron in the whole universe.  _ And to think that he made Alec go out on that date with Lydia.  _ Not to mention that he always kept on teasing Alec for not having a girlfriend and then Alec thought that he would  _ hate _ him because of that… Jace was finally glad that it was all cleared up and things were back to normal.  _ No, not back to normal.  _ Things were better than ever, Jace could feel that his brother was a lot happier for not having to hide who he was from him anymore and Jace was just so happy for his brother. That he finally felt comfortable in his own skin.

“How did you know?” asked Alec suspiciously and Jace snorted.

“Really? You spend an hour in the bathroom when you usually need like five minutes. And now you’re wearing new and fancy clothes and are asking me how you look,” said Jace and then across his arms on top of his chest and Alec just glanced down.  _ Okay, now that Jace put it like that, it wasn’t really that much of a secret where he was going!  _ “It’s so obvious, dude,” said Jace and Alec then shyly looked down and put on a brave face. Okay, Jace knew and he wasn’t going to deny it!

“W-well, yes, I am going out on a date,” said Alec and then chewed on his lip. Jace chuckled and then clasped his hands together, standing up and he walked over to Alec and placed his hands on top of Alec’s shoulders and happily smiled at him.

“Ah, they grow up so fast,” said Jace and Alec narrowed his eyes.

“I’m literally a year older than you,” said Alec, deadpanning and Jace just started laughing. Ah, yes, that sounded still like Alec. It was hilarious, but Jace couldn’t help it. Alec was going out on his very first date - at least to know knowledge and he was there to witness it. He was such a proud brother! 

“Still, I’m so proud and happy for you,” said Jace and Alec smiled.

“Thanks,” said Alec and then nodded. “So, what do you think - do I look okay?”

“Oh, you look fancy af,” said Jace and Alec looked down at his clothes and then nodded. “But you need to loosen up, unbutton the first button of that shirt,” said Jace and waggled his eyebrows. Alec looked down to his clothes and then arched a brow.  _ Really?  _ “It’s a secret I have, always keep a button or two unbuttoned, it always works,” said Jace and Alec rubbed the back of his neck.

“Are you sure? I wanna look polished,” said Alec and Jace laughed.

“Yes, I’m sure, trust me. Just undo the first button,” said Jace and waggled his eyebrows. Alec did as the other one told him and he then took in a deep breath. Was that better? As the button was undone as Alec adjusted the collar of his shirt, Jace’s eyes widened just a little bit because there was something that looked like a hickey on Alec’s neck and he was just- “Is that a hickey?” asked Jace and Alec quickly touched his neck and smiled, his eyes lighting up.

“Oh, yes,” said Alec. “Magnus gave it to me yesterday,” said Alec and waggled his eyebrows. Jace snorted and then placed his hands on top of his sides. So that was the boyfriend then… Magnus! 

“Ah, so you two have already-”

“I always thought that books were the best thing ever, but I discovered my favourite thing to pass the time - making out,” said Alec and Jace started laughing. “Kissing Magnus is the best and he’s always so gentle and patient with me,” said Alec and went on and on about Magnus, finally opening up a little bit more about his relationship and Jace learned that his brother and his boyfriend were quite active, huh?! Jace felt protective of his brother and even if he was the younger brother, he still-

“So where are the two of you going for your date? When will you be back?” asked Jace and he suddenly changed the tone of his voice. Alec narrowed his eyes and then he snorted because Jace suddenly changed from his brother to his parent and he just gently placed his hand on top of Jace’s shoulder and then took in a deep breath.

“Don’t worry, ‘pa, I’ll be careful and Magnus is a gentleman. He’ll get me home by curfew,” said Alec and winked. Jace crossed his arms on top of his chest and then he closed his eyes because he could tell that Alec wasn’t taking his seriously, but then again could he blame him? No, especially with his own history of dates and he just shook his head.  _ He didn’t even know what came over him, he was just so- _

“Oh, yeah, that was a bit… too much, huh?”

“Oh, yes,” said Alec and then just buttoned up his shirt again, because he really didn’t like the thought of going around with the button being unbuttoned and then he just chewed on his lip. “Crap, I should really get going. So, I look good, yes?” asked Alec and Jace just laughed and then nodded again.

“Of course. Now go get him,” said Jace and Alec nodded and then rubbed his palms together. 

Okay, good. He was all ready, he grabbed his phone and wallet, tucking them into the jacket and then he was finally getting over to the bar where the two were going to be meeting up. Alec wanted to come and pick Magnus up, but then the two of them decided to meet up at the Hunter’s Moon. Alec was never there yet, but Magnus told him that it was a pretty laid back place and it was more than perfect for their first date. 

* * *

Magnus was sitting by the bar, feeling a little bit nervous and he then huffed under his breath. Magnus has been on quite a few dates, but this was the first one that he was so nervous about. Not to mention that it was the first date after more than a year and he was really out of the dating world, rubbing the back of his neck and he then chewed on his lip and looked towards the waitress again. Magnus didn’t want to be hogging any possible empty tables, so he decided to wait for Alexander by the bar, ordering himself a little cocktail while he was waiting and he just chewed on his lip again and then he glanced towards the clock and smiled.

Oh, he came over to the Hunter’s Moon way too early, but he couldn’t help it. Being at his loft didn’t really help and waiting for Alec in there was a lot better. He was sitting on the stool, his leg nervously tapping and he just huffed under his breath and then glanced towards the waitress, who chuckled softly and Magnus looked at her, cocking his head to the side. Oh, he was probably annoying her, huh? “Sorry, am I being annoying? I tend to be like this when I get really nervous. So sorry, I’ll go wait somewhere else or-”

“Oh, that’s not it at all,” she said and Magnus gave her a little smile. She was wiping the glasses clean and she glanced towards Magnus and then hummed. “First date, huh?” she asked and Magnus bit his lip and then he slowly nodded because indeed it was the very first date.  _ Was it so obvious? _

“It’s so obvious, huh?”

“Yeah,” said the waitress and chuckled softly, placing the glass down and Magnus gave her a little smile. “Well, if you’re that nervous you have to be waiting for someone pretty special,” she commented and Magnus gave her a little nod because Alec was truly a special person and he just chewed on his lip and tried not to smile too much, but it was impossible. Alexander was such an amazing person and he needed to tell the whole world about. 

“Oh, yes, he’s amazing,” said Magnus and she gave him a little smile and took another glass into her hands. “Um, I’m Magnus by the way,” said Magnus, feeling that it was kind of rude of him not to introduce himself if he was chatting with her already.

“Maia,” she said in the end, Magnus smiling and then he just sighed happily. “Well, I can tell that you’re going to have an amazing time,” she said and winked. Magnus chuckled - how did she know that? But in the end of it all, he knew that it was going to be an amazing time. He was spending it with Alexander, how could it possibly go wrong?

“Oh, I hope so,” said Magnus and then glanced towards the door and then his eyes widened when he saw a giant standing in front of the Hunter’s Moon. The giant was of course nobody else but Alexander and Magnus narrowed his eyes. He was happy that he was there, but why wasn’t he going inside? And what was he doing there in front?! Magnus rubbed the back of his neck, but he quite quickly saw that Alec was checking himself out in the reflection of the window and he snorted. 

By the angel, that was the most adorable thing that he had ever seen!

Magnus was just staring at him, hearts in his eyes and his jaw dropped when he saw Alec unzipping his jacket and undoing a button of his shirt and he was just holding his laughter back the best way that he could. Alec then zipped up the jacket and Magnus looked away and was just in awe. Oh, it was all just an act, huh? The whole innocence part, Alec was right when he told him that his mind was in the gutter quite frequently! Magnus was trying not to laugh, Maia eyeing at Magnus and then she looked towards the window and saw someone standing there, fixing their clothes and she smiled.

“That’s him, huh?” she asked and Magnus looked at her.  _ Okay, that was getting creepy! How did she know everything?! _

“Can you read minds, how do you know everything?!” asked Magnus and Maia laughed.

“Well, you have literal hearts in your eyes when you’re staring at him and you’re drooling, so that was a pretty clear give away that that’s him,” she said and winked. She looked at Alec, who now finally stepped inside of the bar and she then winked and gave Magnus thumbs up. “Lucky you,” she said and winked. Magnus chuckled and then nodded. Oh, he was the lucky one indeed, Alec was such a catch! 

Magnus quickly stood up, drank the rest of his cocktail in one bit gulp and then he quickly headed over to Alec, who was just standing there at the entrance and was trying his best not to act too…. suspicious. Alec’s face lit up as soon as Magnus stepped in front of him and Alec chewed on his lip and then he cleared his throat. “Magnus, hi,” said Alec happily and then looked up and down Magnus - he looked as amazing as ever. So colourful, Alec loved the way he looked and he just shuddered. “You look amazing,” he said and Magnus hummed happily.

“You look rather dashing yourself, Alexander,” said Magnus and winked. Alec happily smiled and then nodded. Good, that was good, he spent a long time getting ready and he just huffed under his breath and then looked around. All that Magnus wanted to do was to wrap his arms around Alec and kiss him, but then he reminded himself that he didn’t know how Alec would feel about that and he just stepped back a little bit. “How about if we go get our table?” asked Magnus and Alec nodded.

Before Magnus managed to turn around and walk over to an empty table, Alec quickly reached out and held his hand. That Magnus looked over to him and before he could ask Alec what was wrong, Alec stepped closer and then cupped the other’s cheek and kissed Magnus. On top of his lips. In front of everyone and Magnus couldn’t not kiss him back, kissing Alec and Alec was shyly smiling as they pulled away and Magnus hummed in delight. He wasn’t pushing it though, right?

“I wanted to do this forever,” said Alec happily and Magnus grinned.

“Feels good, huh?” asked Magnus and Alec looked around. Nobody even saw the kiss, nobody was paying attention to them and he huffed under his breath.  _ Good, it was no big deal.  _ Though it was easier to be himself in front of complete strangers than people that he knew, it was still a big step. 

“Oh-oh, yes,” said Alec and Magnus smiled. He was so proud of Alec and he made sure to tell him while the two of them were walking towards an empty table.

* * *

Alec giggled at Magnus’ joke as he made another sip of his beer and he happily smiled as he was looking into Magnus’ eyes - they were just so pretty and the date was going amazing so far. Jace was right about the button; he undid it before stepping inside of the Hunter’s Moon and he could feel Magnus’ eyes on him more than usual.  _ Was it because of the button?  _ Alec was fussing about it and he had to admit that he liked it, the way Magnus looked at him. It was exciting and he just snorted when he saw Magnus’ eyes falling upon his shirt again.

“Magnus, my eyes are up here,” said Alec and Magnus quickly snapped back to reality.

“Oh, I’m sorry - I am back now, yes,” said Magnus and didn’t even try to hide where he was looking. It was effective - only one button, Alec should unbutton  _ one _ more, but then again probably it was for the better if he didn’t. They were in public and he just sighed, dragging tongue over his lip and he shook his head. “You’re very good at teasing me, Alexander,” said Magnus and Alec grinned. “I saw you undoing the button before you came in, you little devil,” said Magnus and Alec snorted, but his cheeks were bright red.

“Jace’s advice worked!”

Magnus chuckled and then he reached with his hand over the table and placed it on top of Alec’s, who quickly stopped laughing and Magnus smiled. Oh, Alec was always so responsive to all of his touches. Even if it was just the touch of his hand upon his own. “So,” said Magnus and Alec glanced up. “How are you enjoying your first date? Having fun?” asked Magnus and Alec nodded.

“Yes,” said Alec and then chuckled. “I am having a lot of fun,” he said and then made a little pause. It was fun for Magnus too, right? “And you? I mean, um, you’re having fun too?” he asked, the tone of his voice hopeful and Magnus just gave him a little nod.  _ Gosh, he wanted to smooch him so much, but he was still holding himself back a little bit.  _ He was letting Alexander to initiate all public displays of affection for now. 

“I’ve never had so much fun on any of the dates I’ve been on,” said Magnus and Alec snorted.

“I find that hard to believe,” said Alec and Magnus arched his brow. “I mean I’m not all that interesting. I’m pretty sure you’ve dated more interesting people than me in the past,” mumbled Alec. He didn’t feel any sense of jealousy, no, it wasn’t that. He didn’t even compare himself to Magnus’ exes, he just thought of it as a fact, but Magnus was there for him to make sure that he knew how very wrong he was about that assumption.

“Most of them only talked about themselves and I find that very off putting and not fun at all,” said Magnus. “But you always listen to me and make sure to ask me about how I feel about things as well, which I find very sexy,” said Magnus and Alec’s cheeks heated up a little bit.

“R-really?”

“Mm-hmm,” said Magnus and Alec’s heart jumped a little bit.

“What else do you like about me?” was the next question that he kind of blurted it out and Magnus chuckled. “I’m sorry, that was too narcissistic, was it?” asked Alec and Magnus quickly shook his head.

“Not at all, it’s adorable and I’ll make sure to tell you what exactly I like about you,” said Magnus and grinned when he saw how excited Alexander looked. “I like how kind and attentive you are to me,” said Magnus and Alec’s heart was already melting. “And I like how much you care about me. You always make sure to put me first, hmm?” 

Alec nodded. “Y-yes, you deserve it like the king you are.”

“Oh, Alexander, you’re inflating my ego too much,” said Magnus and then bit his lip.  _ God, how much he wanted to kiss him.  _ “I also love how easily you blush, how you’re never apologetic to be yourself and just how… you have such pretty eyes,” said Magnus as he wanted to tell it to Alec ever since the two met and Alec took in a deep breath - Magnus liked the colour of his eyes! He never thought much of his eyes, they were boring compared to Jace’s or-

“My eyes are pretty?”

“The prettiest,” said Magnus and Alec just sort of nervously-giggled and Magnus leaned closer to him and made a little pause. “It’s okay to kiss you, right?”

“Please,” whispered Alec.

Alec was pleading to be kissed,  _ holy fuck.  _ Magnus swallowed back a little moan before he placed his lips on top of Alec’s. 

_ Did Alec even know what he was doing to him?  _

* * *

“You had a fan meeting and I didn’t even know!” shrieked Alec and Magnus just chuckled softly. The two of them were slowly walking around the city. Actually, Magnus was on his way to walk Alec over to his apartment. Alexander was always spending time at his place and he was always doing things for him, so walking him back home seemed like the perfect way to end their date, which went amazing. Magnus loved their first date and Alec was just in heaven, basically.

“Well, nobody really knew, my company was shit at promoting it anyway,” said Magnus because he could tell that Alec felt terrible about not coming, but it wasn’t his fault at all. Besides, back then it was a different time and it was just… it was okay now. 

“But-but I was always making sure I was following news and-and I missed it- how?” asked Alec and Magnus just squeezed his hand tighter and pulled him closer. They were walking hand in hand together. It was such a lovely feeling, Alec felt invincible like that! “Your former company sucks, Magnus. You deserve so much more,” said Alec and Magnus grinned.

“I know, I’m with a new one and they are nice to me,” said Magnus.

“Yes,” said Alec and shook his head. “Can I ask you something? You don’t have to reply if it’s too personal,” said Alec and Magnus looked at him.

“Sure, what’s up?”

“Ever thought about returning back to Prince of Edom and finishing up the books?” asked Alec and Magnus glanced down. “And show your previous company that they can go shove it,” said Alec and his eyes lit up. “I would do a promotion for you. And I would ask Ragnor to help me along, it would be so perfect and-” started Alec, getting ahead of himself and Magnus giggled.

He found it tempting to go back to Prince of Edom now, but he also didn’t know. “You’re adorable, Alexander, but if I’m completely honest, I’m not sure,” said Magnus and puffed his cheeks. “I mean it does sound tempting,” he said and Alec nodded. “I think I need to think it all through,” said Magnus and Alec puffed his cheeks, but then he nodded because it did make sense.

Alec was happily swinging their hands in between them and Magnus grinned. He could tell just how much fun Alec was having and it was a pity that Alec’s apartment was just around the corner. “Thank you for today, I had such an amazing experience,” said Alec and Magnus smiled softly.

“I had a lot of fun as well,” said Magnus. 

Just a turn around the corner and the two of them have reached the building in which Alec lived. Alec would love to invite Magnus up, but Jace was there and it just wouldn’t feel intimate anymore. They were in public, yes, but it was still only two of them and Alec just happily sighed and he then stepped in front of Magnus. “Thank you for walking me back home,” said Alec. “Like a true gentleman,” he teased and Magnus grinned and gently cupped Alec’s cheek.

“My pleasure,” said Magnus and bit his lip, making a little pause. 

“Text me when you come back home?” asked Alec and Magnus winked.

“You can bet on it,” said Magnus and Alec’s smile widened. A proper goodbye deserved a proper goodbye kiss, so Alec just happily pulled Magnus even closer and he pressed their lips together, not thinking too much of it, feeling comfortable with kissing his boyfriend in public. Magnus smiled into their kiss and he leaned up as he gave Alec a kiss back. 

The kiss lasted for a bit, both of them completely lost in their own little world. Immersed into each other and the kiss, they didn’t see a man that recognised Alec. He wanted to step closer to say hi, but when he saw that Alec seemed  _ busy  _ and when he saw what he was busy with, he quickly made a step back and quickly left. As Alec opened his eyes again and pulled back from the kiss, he could see him, but didn’t recognise him. All he could see was someone that was in a hurry to leave and he narrowed his eyes.

_ Huh, weird.  _

But he didn’t think of it too much as he was on cloud nine - he was in too much of a good mood and after he said his goodbyes to Magnus, he waltzed up to the apartment, where he had a lot to tell to Jace. Upon his arrival Jace seemed kind of annoyed, but Alec was quick to realise that Robert was visiting, again nagging Jace about his studies. It’s been happening for a while now, Jace wasn’t too keen on continuing with the choice that he chose for himself, but Robert seemed to be disagreeing. 

But Jace was in a much better mood when Alec was back to tell him all about his date!


	17. Chapter 17

Alec smiled and then leaned back in the chair. He was over at his parents’ home, just visiting for a little bit because he kind of missed them. Also, Robert was over just the other day and Alec missed him. Jace kind of sent him to tell their father to stop bothering him about his studies and as much as Alec understood where Jace was coming from, he also understood Robert, because Jace wasn’t getting any younger and Robert just wanted the best for their son. But then when it was all boiled down to it; Jace was old enough to be making his own decisions and he knew that university wasn’t for him then maybe he should quit, or at least change his direction of his studies. Alec really didn’t want to be in the middle of his brother and his father though, so he was just going to tell Robert exactly what Jace had told him how he felt about it all and he was going to leave it all to them to deal with it. It wasn’t his place to be in the middle of matters like this.

“And how’s school?” asked Maryse suddenly, making Alec snap back to reality and he glanced over to his mom and smiled. Robert wasn’t home yet, so Alec was kind of waiting around to speak to him in private about Jace. Maybe he should mention it to Maryse as well - she and Robert probably talked about it all. Alec bit his lip and he whined softly because he didn’t like what was soon approaching - all of the exams and it was so hard to focus on them when he was just in a new relationship, chewing on his lip and he just smiled.

“It’s fine for now, but exams are coming and soon hell will prevail,” said Alec in a very serious tone of voice and Maryse chuckled. Max looked over to his brother and he nodded. Oh, yes, he had many tests as well in school and he didn’t like it. And he was suffering already, he didn’t even want to think about how much he was going to be suffering in the future. Hearing all of his three older siblings whine about university made the little boy determined that he was never going there. It was just an evil place where you had to write too many reports and essays. Oh, it was all scary and evil!

Maryse shook her head and placed her hand on top of Alec’s. “Now, you are also getting valuable education, right?” she asked and then eyed Max, who was sitting right there and she then gave Alec a little wink. Right, he shouldn’t be like this in front of Max, he should be saying how education was amazing and it was amazing after all! But he didn’t like the process of it all. He didn’t take it for granted one bit either, but it was just…  _ ugh, it was so annoying because he had to be home and study instead to be hanging out with Magnus.  _ How unfair was that?!

Alec pouted and then he just nodded, kind of forcing himself to agree with his mom. “Yes, very important. Education and university are all very important and even though it’s kind of hard it’s all very worth it in the end,” said Alec and then hummed. It was true, it was all very worth it, but the way that he said it made Maryse laugh out loud. Oh, Alec was terrible when it came to lying and she just shook her head and then looked over to Max, who was cracking up as well. Not even he could buy Alec’s lies and Alec just rolled his eyes and then just crossed his arms on top of his chest.

“You’re a very bad liar,” said Max and Alec stuck his tongue out.

“Well, it should be a lesson to you - it’s not nice to lie anyway, so why do it,” said Alec in the end kind of defensively, but Maryse just nodded because she appreciated that Alec was kind of lecturing Max even though the two were bickering and she just sighed. Ah, her boys were always just… they were amazing boys and she chuckled, glancing over to the clock. Speaking of her boys, Robert was coming home every minute now and she happily clasped her hands together.

“Max, why don’t you go tidy up your room before dinner? Your dad will be home every minute now,” said Maryse and Max whined a little bit, but then he just nodded and he was quick on his legs.  _ After all, he was in his big brother’s room and it was important that he kept it all nice and tidy.  _ Alec smiled and then he looked over to Maryse, who gave him a little smile. “Staying for dinner?” she asked him and Alec hummed. He didn’t really intend to stay over for such a long time, but he and Maryse got talking and it was… well, why not? He was hungry anyway and it seemed like a good plan!

“Oh, maybe I will,” said Alec happily and Maryse happily clasped her hands together. “I have to talk to him anyway,” said Alec and Maryse hummed and then she rubbed the back of her head. “Jace sent me,” said Alec and Maryse finally realised it.

Her husband went over to the boys’ apartment the other day to have a little talk with Jace about his studies even though Maryse kept telling him to let it go. Jace was old enough after all to pick out what he wanted to do anyway, but he didn’t listen to her as it turned out. Jace called her after the visit was over and Robert came back a little bit shaken up. He didn’t really tell her what happened, but he also didn’t want to talk about it. So there must have been a fight!

“Oh, don’t tell me they got into a fight,” said Maryse and shook her head.

“Not that I know of, why?” asked Alec, surprised.

“Well, the day that he paid Jace a visit, he came back very pissed off,” said Maryse and then shook her head. No, angry wasn’t the right word for it, he wasn’t angry, he wasn’t even disappointed, but more… shocked? “I tried asking him what happened and usually he tells me everything, but not this time,” said Maryse and then placed her hands on top of her sides. “It was all very weird, I’ve never seen him like this. He didn’t want to talk, he just closed himself to me and he has been acting kind of distant,” said Maryse and Alec huffed under his breath.

“Okay, so there was definitely a fight then,” said Alec and then shook his head.  _ What else could be the problem?  _ “Kind of weird that Jace didn’t mention it though. Means that it had to be pretty serious, huh?” asked Alec and Maryse gave him a little nod because it definitely looked like that. “Don’t worry, mom, dad always tells me things and I’ll go ask him what happened,” said Alec and Maryse nodded.

It was true, Robert and Alec had a special bond, Robert would usually talk to Alec about things that he wasn’t comfortable discussing with others and she smiled. “I do hope that he will open up to you. I hate seeing them fight, I hope they make up sooner than later,” said Maryse and Alec gave her a little nod. Knowing both Jace and Robert, he knew that they could easily butt heads as they were both very stubborn and kind of hot-headed, so this wasn’t the first time. But on the other hand, even after they fought, they usually forgave each other pretty soon and Alec just winked.

“Leave it to me, mom,” said Alec and Maryse chuckled. 

* * *

Alec thought that talking to Robert was going to be easy, but it turned out not to be like that at all. The dinner that Alec stayed over passed by in complete silence. It was only Max, Maryse and Alec talking, while Robert just ate in silence and Alec was very curious about what just went down between Robert and Jace. But, Alec also had a new plan - after the dinner, he told Maryse that he was going to go to the living room as Robert excused himself out of the kitchen. Maryse gave them a space to talk it all out and she hoped that everything was going to be okay and Alec caught his dad just in the right moment as he was already walking up the stairs and-

“Dad, wait up,” said Alec happily and Robert quickly turned to him and his eyes widened a little bit. As if he was surprised to see him there? Alec took a hint and he made a step back, but still, why was his father acting like this? It wasn’t like him at all, when he and Jace would fight, he wouldn’t be in a hurry to get away from him! 

“Alec,” said Robert and Alec laughed. Why was he so surprised to see him there? Even when he came back home, he was almost shocked to see him there and while they were eating, Alec could feel his father’s eyes on him more than once but when he would look at the other, he could see him quickly looking away. Oh, he just wished that Robert would tell him what was bothering him. “Um, what’s up?” asked Robert and Alec could hear that it sounded very forced, almost as if Robert didn’t want to talk to him?

“Nothing much, you sure you’re okay?” asked Alec and then hummed. “Does it have to do with that fight with Jace?” asked Alec. “I mean he did send me here to talk to you about his future, but I don’t really want to get in the middle of it all. But now I can sense that the two of you got into a fight and-”

“What fight?” asked Robert and Alec bit his lip.

“Well, would explain why you’re acting kind of weird, no?” asked Alec and then smiled. “Don’t mind Jace too much, he knows that you’re coming from a place of love, I do too, but at the same time, we’re adults dad and especially if it’s someone as stubborn and Jace, it’s best to let them pick their own road, you know?” asked Alec and Robert just nodded and then glanced up the stairs. 

“I’m really not in the mood,” said Robert in the end and Alec’s smile disappeared a little bit. “Been a long day, I don't want to talk about it,” said Robert and Alec smiled again.

“Suppose that’s fair enough,” said Alec. “Well, how about we do something else? Sit down and catch up a little bit,” he said and Alec could see that Robert’s eyes widened again and he shook his head quickly. Alec was getting more and more confused. Now it didn’t seem like Robert didn’t want to talk about Jace, but it was more…  _ he didn’t want to hang out with him?  _ Did he do something to upset Robert? Alec was very confused. 

“Better not,” said Robert quickly and Alec’s smile faded completely.

“Are you upset with me?” asked Alec.

“It’s just been a really long day,” said Robert instead.  _ He didn’t deny it either!  _ Alec cocked his head to the side and then he huffed under his breath. Okay, he was going to give his father the benefit of the doubt… for now!

“How about the weekend then?” asked Alec, just to make sure. Alec could tell that Robert was thinking hard about it, he didn’t want to let his son down, but- “Some archery?” asked Alec because that was the way he and Robert used to hang out like in the past and Robert was trying very hard not to say no.

“Okay,” said Robert in the end. Alec cheered up enough to forget about the option of Robert being upset with him. 

“Awesome, I’ll kick your ass,” said Alec proudly and Robert laughed. But it also didn’t really seem right, the way his father laughed was-

“We’ll see about that,” said Robert in his usual tone of voice and Alec finally decided to drop it. Alas his father didn’t have any reason to be upset with him much to his knowledge. It was probably - like he said - just a long day. Also that fight with Jace. It was all going to be okay, Alec was sure of it!

* * *

Alec was over at Magnus’; it was about time as it’s been quite a few days since the two of them had last seen each other. It was weird not going over to Magnus’ every day after his classes, but at the same time, Alec really did need that extra time to finally start studying and it was only the second day since he properly started his studies and he was already feeling miserable for two reasons a) he didn’t get to spend as much time with Magnus and b) he had a gut feeling that something was really off between him and his father and it wasn’t concerning Jace. At all. The weekend was approaching and Alec was looking forward to his plans with Robert - maybe things would be normal till then, but Alec just couldn’t put his finger on it why he thought that Robert might have been upset with him.

Alec tried to think of a thing that would make his father pissed off, but he couldn’t think of anything and he just huffed under his breath and he glanced over to Magnus, who was observing him and that was the third time already that he saw Alexander frowning that day and he pouted. There was something definitely on Alec’s mind and Magnus decided to ask him about it, placing his hands on top of Alec’s shoulders and he started gently massaging his boyfriend, who gasped softly at the touch and Magnus grinned.

The response was still there; how amazing! “Alexander, what’s on your mind?” asked Magnus softly and Alec looked at him and just shrugged. “Aw, come on, you can tell me about it, what’s wrong? I can see you frowning, you’re really bad at hiding things,” said Magnus softly and chuckled. Alec smiled as well and he then chewed on his lip and slowly straightened himself up, Magnus withdrawing his hands as he was going to let Alec speak uninterrupted. 

“For starters it sucks that I can’t be here anymore every day and I miss it,” said Alec softly and Magnus gave him a little grin and he scooted a bit closer to him and he just nodded. Yes, it was only a little bit over a month that Alec was over practically every day and Magnus had to admit that his loft left lonely without the other around all the time and he chewed on his lip.

“I know, I miss you too,” said Magnus softly. “But it’s important for you that you now put your whole attention on studying,” said Magnus and Alec nodded and then groaned softly and just leaned against Magnus, feeling and acting clingy. He didn’t care, he wanted Magnus to pamper him that day, he spent three hours just trying to get through the first few chapters of the book that he had to read for the exam and he was just desperate for attention.

“I know. It sucks,” said Alec.

“Now, come in, it doesn’t. You will soon be finished with exams and you will be able to come over more often, right?” asked Magnus and Alec nodded. That was literally the only thing that kept him going if he was being honest and he sighed again.

“It’s the only motivation I have at the moment, yes,” said Alec and then placed his head on top of Magnus’ shoulder and Magnus smiled again. Clingy Alexander was adorable and he just wrapped his arms around him. “It’s only the second day that I’m studying and I’m already giving up,” said Alec and then grumbled under his breath. “Also my dad is suddenly upset with me,” said Alec and Magnus arched his brow.

“Oh, what happened?”

“Nothing,” said Alec and then looked up at Magnus. “I mean it. Literally, nothing. I mean as much as I can think of, there’s nothing. He and Jace had a fight about something - doesn’t really matter,” said Alec and then he bit his lip. “I was visiting them the other day and it was just so weird. He wouldn’t talk to me much and he was kind of in a hurry to get away from me. I don’t know what I’ve done, Magnus,” said Alec and pouted. “He claimed that he was tired after a long day at work, but I don’t know. I could feel that there was more to all of that,” said Alec and looked down sadly.

“It’s probably the latter, I’m there’s no way that anyone could be upset with you,” said Magnus and Alec started giggling. “I mean there’s no universe in which anyone could be possibly annoyed with you,” said Magnus and Alec just looked at him again.

“I think quite a few individuals can possibly disagree with you,” said Alec and then chuckled. “I’m known to be kind of grumpy and-”

“Then those individuals don’t know you very well,” said Magnus and Alec gave him a little smile and he sighed under his breath. “It really bothers you, huh?” asked Magnus a little bit more seriously that time and Alec gave him a little nod.

“Yeah,” said Alec. “I mean you’re probably right, I’m just overthinking things, but it’s just… I don’t know, I’m pretty close to my dad and he usually doesn’t… I don’t know. If he really did have a long day at work and if someone did piss him off there then he would be like this, I guess,” said Alec and Magnus gave him another encouraging smile. “Besides we’re going to be hanging out more this weekend and he didn’t say no to when I asked him,” said Alec and Magnus wrapped an arm around him. “So if he was really upset with me, he wouldn’t agree to meeting me, right?”

“Exactly,” said Magnus and kissed Alec’s temple. “Besides, you can always ask him during the weekend if something happened that made him really upset or something like this,” said Magnus and Alec nodded. “God knows that my dad needs a little bit to open up about his problems and talk about them,” said Magnus and Alec looked over to Magnus and his eyes widened. 

Right, his father - Asmodeus! Well, not really Asmodeus, it was rude to call Magnus’ father by the name of a demon. He had a different name and Alec knew that, but still… Magnus’ father sounded quite interesting from how much Alec knew about him from the books of the Prince, but it was also a question if any of that was correct or if it was just a plot of Magnus’ imagination. Still, Alec was very eager to learn! “About your father,” said Alec and Magnus looked over at him and he smiled.

“Ah, yes,” said Magnus. “Wanna know how much from the books is true?”

“Kinda, yeah… if it’s not too much,” said Alec and Magnus shook his head.

“Not at all,” he said and then hummed. “Well, pretty much everything about his character is true. He was very overprotective and he was always fussing around about things,” he said and then hummed. “He’s also a very hilarious guy, but you don’t want to cross paths with him because if you get on his bad side, he shows his darkness and it’s not pretty,” said Magnus and shook his head. Yep, his father could be quite scary and Alec glanced at him.

“Ah, is this why you decided to call him Asmodeus in your book?” asked Alec and started laughing in amusement. 

“Oh, that’s his name for real,” said Magnus and Alec’s jaw dropped. Magnus started laughing - Alec was so confused, poor thing. “You seem shocked,” said Magnus and Alec nodded. Of course he was, how could someone’s name for real be Asmodeus?!

“Did he change it or…. I mean it can’t be his official name for real, that’s the name of a demon and-”

“Oh it is,” said Magnus and Alec was again picking his jaw from the ground. “I know,” he said and then shook his head. “Believe it or not, he loves it, says it makes people nervous around him and they’re always just… don’t know what to say when they find out he’s not joking about it,” said Magnus and then shook his head. “My dad is just a huge dork, he enjoys seeing people squirm,” he said and Alec gulped.

“I’m suddenly very nervous about meeting your father,” said Alec and Magnus wrapped his arms around him and pulled him closer. Alec started giggling when Magnus pressed a kiss on top of his forehead and Alec hummed. “Kissing my third eye, huh?”

“I… you’re too adorable and also,” said Magnus. “My father is going to love you,” he said and his heart was happily dancing.  _ Alexander wanted to meet his father!  _ “You know all of his weaknesses anyway, you’ve read my books… remember?”

“Right!” said Alec and perked up. “I can do a character study on him properly and… oh, Magnus, I can make him love me,” said Alec proudly and very confidently.  _ He knew about what things Asmodeus liked and what he disliked!  _ All thanks to Magnus’ books! Alec was already plotting his first meeting with Asmodeus and Magnus was giggling over there at the side, but was happy that Alec was in a much better mood than before!


	18. Chapter 18

It was weekend and Alec was hanging out with Robert; they went to their usual place where the two of them would usually do archery and for the time that they were there and competing against each other, it was a lot of fun. Alec came there and was a little bit nervous about it all, but Robert was back to normal. Alec did ask Jace if he and Robert got into a serious fight, but Jace told him that there was no big fight happening back then. The only thing that was Robert trying to make him see that education was important and that he shouldn’t be throwing his years away - that was all. And as much as it annoyed Jace to be told that over and over again, there was no bigger fight happening. There wasn’t even a voice being raised, they just discussed it all like adults, but that didn’t mean that it didn’t make Jace annoyed. Oh, he was beyond annoyed that Robert would nag him about it all the damn time, but yes. That was all that happened. 

So, in the end of it all, Alec realised that Magnus was right about what he was trying to tell him - it was just a long day at work. Just like Robert said it at first and Alec felt a lot better because it was still on his mind. He was trying to think of a thing that he might have done that pissed Robert off but because he couldn’t think of anything, it was driving him insane. He was just happy that his father was acting like nothing happened when the two of them met and they had quite a lovely time. Alec did say that he wanted to have more of a personal talk with his dad back then, but he kind of realised that it was probably for the best to not bring it up? After all, he was just thinking too much of it and things were okay between them. He didn’t want to add on too much pressure on it all. 

Also, it didn’t really matter anymore - everyone had bad days and bad days at work were something that Robert was quite used to, so Alec decided to drop it, just in case. He didn’t want to add unneeded fire into it all. Dropping it completely, Alec decided to just let loose and have fun with hanging out with his father. It was quite a long time time since the two of them went out like this and it was a lot of fun to just bond over archery just like all those years ago and Alec was in a very good mood. He had a lovely time and the two of them decided to go out for lunch

“I totally kicked your ass today, dad,” said Alec happily and Robert just snorted and then crossed his arms on top of his chest, the smile still on his face. It was good to see Robert smile, it meant that he was in a good mood and Alec completely dropped the previous worries that were on his mind. He just focused on having fun because he knew that it wouldn’t last for too long. Soon he would be back in his apartment with his textbooks, so he didn’t want to dwell on the bad feelings. 

“Bold of you to think that I didn’t let you win,” said Robert in a very teasing manner and Alec just giggled and then hummed happily. “You’ll see next time that we do this, I won’t hold back. Also I’m kind of rusty as I didn’t do archery in a very long time, so that’s all. I was holding back for the entire time,” said Robert and Alec started laughing. Sure, whatever helped his old man to cope with him losing against Alec. 

Alec was a competitive man, but he didn’t like boasting about his victories - unless it came to archery, it was a completely different story then. Especially if he was going up against Robert - Alec didn’t mind boasting about his victories at all! “Oh, we will see about that,” said Alec and then waggled his eyebrows, Robert just shaking his head and he then happily sighed as he looked towards Alec and the younger one arched his brow a little bit. Okay, that was kind of… unlike his father. Why was he looking at him like that? It was just like that time at the dinner, he was also looking at him as if he was trying to figure something out and Alec cocked his head to the side.

“Wanna bet?” asked Robert, kind of making Alec stop think about what was on his mind and he looked towards his father again.  _ Oh, he was trying to make a bet with him?  _ Alec knew for a fact that Maryse wouldn’t be very happy with that, but Alec just snorted and then he nodded. Okay, what was in it for him?

“So, what does a winner get?”

“A free pizza - the loser is paying for it,” said Robert and Alec snickered. Okay, maybe mom wouldn’t get too mad about the two of them making a bet about pizza and Alec just happily sighed and then he leaned back, biting onto his lip. It was definitely good to go out like this, he has been mostly spending time in his room as he was studying and being out among civilisation was amazing.  _ He never thought he’d be the one to ever think that, but being a student made him appreciate hanging out with people!  _

“Oh, it’s on,” said Alec and then hummed happily. He was about to say something else, but then his phone buzzed and Alec quickly took it out of his pocket because he was keen on seeing who it was and his smile widened when he saw Magnus’ name written on the screen and he quickly tapped on the text because he was pretty sure that Magnus was checking in out how things with his father were going. Magnus was always so caring and Alec wasn’t wrong about it, his heart melting when he read the text.

💗  **Magnus** 💗: Hello, angel, how is meeting with your dad going? All good? You are kind of quiet, so I just worry a little bit, but it can also mean that you’re having a lot of fun, which I hope you are. I hope things are well and that your father isn’t upset with you. Get back to me whenever you can :)

Alec smiled and then he chewed on his lip. Oh, Magnus was just always so caring and amazing, Alec taking in a deep breath and then he looked up to his father, who was now just eating his food in silence and wasn’t saying much. Alec didn’t want to smile too much, but it was kind if impossible. Seeing Magnus care for him so much just meant so much to him and a dopey smile spread across his face. A dopey smile that definitely didn’t go unmissed from Robert’s eyes. 

Alec just cleared his throat and decided to write back to Magnus. He knew that his father wasn't a fan when people would text during outings like this, but he just had to tell him that things were okay. He was making Magnus worried and he didn’t want the other to worry about him. Also, he wanted to tell him about all the fun that he had with his father and how he kicked his butt at archery! Okay, maybe he wanted to show off just a little bit, but it was just… so much fun!

**Alec:** It’s going pretty well! I suppose you were right about me overthinking things, he’s pretty chill today. I totally kicked his ass at archery though! And now he is trying to play it off as if he let me win, but I know him too well. He didn’t! He is just getting old and rusty and I won, hehe. I am totally badass when it comes to archery.

**Alec:** That sounded a little bit arrogant, I’m sorry. But I’m just so happy that things are back to normal, I was worrying a lot! And how is your day? Have you been missing me? ;-) 

Alec snickered when he sent that text and he then looked back to Robert, who was just… observing him and then he took a sip of his drink and opened his mouth. “Someone special?” asked Robert because he couldn’t see who his son was texting, but from the way he was smiling it was very clear that he was talking to someone special and Alec froze up all of the sudden. Alec didn’t know how to reply to that because he still wasn’t ready to come out, but at the same time he didn’t want to lie!

“U-um, what do you mean by… special?” asked Alec slowly and Robert was silent for a little while and then he smiled.

“Oh, you know, a-” started Robert and then he bit his tongue. Alec arches his brow and Robert was thinking about something again. Alec could tell that his father was again in  _ that _ mood, where he was  _ trying _ really hard to say something, but not much was coming out of his mouth and in the end he finally snapped out of it. “A significant other,” said Robert in the end and Alec just laughed nervously.

How was he supposed to reply to that?

Alec’s phone buzzed again and Robert happened to glance over to the screen. He didn’t mean to, but he did and he saw the name written on Alec’s screen. 

💗  **Magnus** 💗

The emoticons next to the name indicated that… it was definitely more than a friend and he quickly looked away. Alec wasn’t aware of the fact that Robert had seen Magnus’ name on his screen and he just rubbed the back of his neck. Magnus was a male name and Robert didn’t really need any more confirmation about the fact if he was right about what he saw that evening in front of the apartment building when he was leaving to go home. He saw Alec with someone and he was about to say hi, but then-

Alec was panicking and Robert could see that. Robert himself felt kind of… bad for asking such a question and he just wanted to- “U-um, maybe?” finally said Alec out loud and then quickly grabbed his phone when he saw that Magnus’ name was displayed on the screen.  _ Good, just in time!  _ He then made a little pause as he was in the search of something to say next and Alec could see that Robert was kind of…  _ puzzled?  _

Perhaps not puzzled but Alec could sense that Robert was struggling with finding the correct words to say next and Alec was again puzzled about it all. Maybe his father was upset with him in the end of it all? "So," said Robert and then smiled. Alec smiled back but he was already feeling nervous about talking about his dating life. Still, the thought that maybe Robert knew more than he thought didn't really cross his mind and he was just sitting there, itching to reply to Magnus but he didn't dare to unlock his phone. "You've met someone - I mean you're dating?" asked Robert and Alec held in his breath. 

As he hated lying and he already kind of told the truth anyway, Alec just nodded. If his father would ask more about the identity of the person he was with then Alec would turn on his panic mode but for now his father didn't cross any lines and he just slowly nodded. "Yes, I've met someone," said Alec and his voice was shaking softly. Robert slowly nodded and was still thinking hard. Why - what was all that frowning for?

"And you're happy?" asked Robert and Alec smiled again. With Magnus on his mind he couldn't really hide how much in love was, huh? As everyone was able to read him like an open book like that! And Alec was more than happy, he was just he couldn't even put in words how happy Magnus made him. But in the end he didn't want to complicate things so he just-

"Very," whispered Alec and felt his cheeks getting warm.

Robert nodded and clasped his hands together and finally smiled in a way that Alec was used to. "Then that's all that matters," he said softly and Alec looked at him and he narrowed his eyes. The way he said that sounded way too serious and he snorted.

"What got into you?" asked Alec and snickered. "It's not like you to get so sentimental," said Alec and Robert made another pause.

"I'm not," said Robert and shook his head. "I'm just happy you found someone," he carried on and Alec beamed at his father. Oh, he was happy about it as well.

_ He was blessed! _

Alec continued eating his meal in peace, but the smile on his face was bright and Robert was observing his son for a little longer and he smiled softly soon after that. His son was glowing with happiness, there was no denying in that. Alec was happier than ever and that was what it all mattered indeed.

* * *

“It’s so nice to be finally back here,” said Alec, beaming and he was holding Magnus’ hand. The two of them were enjoying their second date, again going over to the Hunter’s Moon. Alec had so much fun there the previous time that he wanted to visit again and who was Magnus to deny his boyfriend that kind of happiness? He didn’t care where their dates took place - he was just happy that he got the time to spend with his boyfriend and that was literally all that mattered to him, happily nodding and he looked around. “No more evil room and no more evil textbooks,” said Alec, happily cheering on and Magnus chuckled.

“You poor thing, you’re really suffering, huh?” asked Magnus and Alec pouted and quickly nodded. Oh, yes, he was suffering very much, it didn’t feel nice not being able to spend time with Magnus at all! “It’s weekend, darling, so let’s just sit back and enjoy and forget all about the evil exams,” said Magnus and Alec happily nodded. Yep, he had to agree - Magnus had a point and he just happily linked their fingers together and placed their hands on top of the table and Magnus grinned.

“I can come over after the date, right?” asked Alec happily and Magnus kissed his cheek and then nodded. 

“Well, of course you can, you’re always welcome at my place,” said Magnus and Alec sighed happily. He liked going out with Magnus like this, but it was the best to spend time with him in his loft; they could do so many more…  _ interesting _ things there! Alec’s eyes lit up and Magnus was laughing again when he saw the look on Alec’s face. “I see your mind is already going places, huh?” asked Magnus and Alec didn’t deny it, nodding in agreement and Magnus smiled and then leaned back in his chair, sipping on his drink.

Alec looked over to the entrance door, not thinking too much of it as he heard the door opening and someone new stepping inside. Hunter’s Moon was quite a busy place, so it was always someone going in and going out, but his jaw dropped to the floor when he saw who stepped inside of the bar and he quickly withdrew his hand away from Magnus’ and the older one pouted a little bit -  _ aw, what was the matter?  _ But then he saw where Alec was looking at and he glanced towards the door.

There was a tall and curly blonde standing there in the company of someone else and Magnus looked back to Alec -  _ they knew each other?  _ From the looks of it, they definitely did and Magnus quickly understood it all. Alec wasn’t out to him yet and he leaned closer to Alec. “Everything okay?” asked Magnus and Alec nodded, but the panic was still there.

“Y-yes, just, um, that’s my friend over there,” said Alec and Magnus nodded.

“Gathered that much, which one?”

“The tall curly one, Underhill,” said Alec and Magnus glanced back at him and Underhill spotted Alec pretty easily among the people and he looked towards Alec. Alec did mention him a few times. Alec smiled nervously when he saw the other awkwardly waving over to him and he just took in a deep breath. “I’m not out to him yet, shit,” he said and then rubbed the back of his neck.

“It’s okay, Alexander, take a deep breath,” said Magnus and Alec did as he was told, feeling a bit better. “We’ll just tell them that we’re friends,” said Magnus and Alec’s heart sunk to the pit of his stomach.  _ No, that again didn’t feel right.  _ It didn’t feel right and it wasn’t fair to Magnus. As much as he knew that Magnus was very patient and that he didn’t mind it, he didn’t like it. It was just… ugh. 

“No-”

“Okay, um, acquaintances then?”

“I don’t wanna lie, it’s not fair to you,” said Alec and then he bit his lip. Magnus’ heart melted again and he then nodded. Okay!

“Then we don’t disclose the type of our relationship and it’ll be okay,” said Magnus and Alec nodded. Okay, yes, that was a good idea! And Magnus came up with it just in the very last time because Underhill and the shorter guy following him and Alec glanced up and then just-

“Theodore!” piped up Alec and Underhill gave him a little smile and then he glanced behind him and the guy behind him smiled and waved to him. Alec didn’t recognise the other one, but he had a feeling that Underhill was soon going to be introducing all of them to each other and he was already kind of- “Um, what are you doing here?” asked Alec and then crossed his arms on top of his chest. 

“Alec, funny running into you here,” said Underhill and then he shrugged. “You know just felt like going out for a drink with my,” he said and then looked at the other again and then he narrowed his eyes, thinking… and thinking. “Guy friend,” said Underhill and Magnus there next to Alec just snorted because…  _ guy friend?!  _ Magnus glanced to the shorter guy, who was just shaking his head and he looked back to Underhill and he could almost swear that they appeared to be-

“Oh, great!” said Alec and then nodded. “About the same, felt like grabbing a drink with my… Magnus,” said Alec and then his jaw dropped when he realised what he said. “Magnus, I meant to say Magnus. He’s not mine, I mean he’s his own person and…  _ Magnus help me, _ ” whined Alec and Magnus laughed under his breath. Oh, Alec was such an adorable mess.

“I’m Magnus, nice to meet you,” said Magnsu in the end and Underhill waved to him. “You may join us if you’d like, we wouldn’t mind,” said Magnus and he then glanced back to the shorter guy, who was now pouting.

“Teddy, introduce me to your friends,” he said finally and Underhill looked at him and he flushed. Alec was amused… Teddy, huh? 

“Oh! Yes! Sorry,” said Underhill and then smiled. “This is Marcel,” said Underhill in the end Marcel waved happily. Alec arched his brow and then he remembered that Underhill did mention him before once! It was the guy that loved reading romance novels, they met in the library!

“Oh, the library guy!” said Alec and Marcel looked at Underhill.

“This is how you introduced me to your best friend?” asked Marcel sadly and then just pouted again. Now he wasn’t amused at all and Underhill panicked again. “Not even a friend, but just a random guy from the library. How nice, poor me,” said Marcel and then started feeling sorry for himself. 

“No, no, he said that you were his friend,” said Alec quickly, feeling bad for causing the misunderstanding and Marcel glanced to Underhill, who nodded and then he glanced back at Alec. “Why don’t you join us for a round of drinks?” he quickly asked as Magnus’ idea was pretty cool! And it would clear up the misunderstanding between Marcel and Underhill. 

“Okay,” said Marcel in the end and sat down, Underhill sitting next to him and Magnus’ smile widened.  _ Oh, they were so dating!  _ It was kind of amusing though - both Underhill and Alec were scared to come out to each other?

Still feeling bad, Underhill wanted to apologise properly to Marcel! “I’m sorry,” he said and Marcel looked at him. “It wasn’t like that, I just mentioned that we met in the library,” said Underhill and Marcel nodded slowly. “How to make up to you, huh? I’ll buy you the next round of drinks and-and then we will-”

“Oh, Teddy, you goofball, I’m not really upset,” said Marcel and giggled happily. “I was just… I don’t know. I’m sorry too, I love you,” said Marcel softly and Underhill’s dopey smile was enough to make Alec see the full truth there and…  _ oh, he was Underhill’s boyfriend not just a friend! _

So there they were both trying to… pretending that they weren't just on a date with their boyfriends? Alec snorted and Underhill looked at him and he was just- Underhill realised what Marcel said and he was holding in his breath. “Magnus is my boyfriend,” said Alec out loud and then started laughing. Magnus looked at him surprised, but also happy. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to hold it back. 

“What?” asked Underhill.

“Yes. Boyfriend. Magnus. Mine,” said Alec and laughed softly. Underhill blinked a few times and then he looked towards Marcel, who was now cracking up as well as he understood the situation fully. 

“So - let me get that straight,” said Underhill.

“Hmm, you sure that choice of words is correct?” asked Alec and Underhill finally cracked a smile.

“Point taken,” said Underhill and then he burst out laughing. “Marcel is my boyfriend,” said Underhill and Magnus snorted.

“We know,” said Magnus and Marcel giggled. Oh, this was amazing - it turned out hilarious, bit in a good way. Alec was trying to figure out how to tell Underhill. Amazing turn of events!

“Well. Yes. Still wanted to say it out loud,” said Underhill happily and Marcel just melted against him and placed his head on top of Underhill’s shoulder and Alec chuckled, looking over to Magnus and he took his hand back into his - where it belonged. Magnus smiled and he just kissed Alec’s cheek softly. 

And there they were - in the Hunter’s Moon - enjoying their… double date!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> f1championship's comment a few chapters ago inspired the second bit of the chapter :) it was too good to not include it into the fic xD


	19. Chapter 19

“Magnus, don’t stop,” gasped Alec between his little moans and mewled softly out when he was pushed harder against the couch by the weight of Magnus’ body and his arms were around Magnus, keeping him nice and close. Magnus smiled against the skin of Alec’s neck before kissing him again and Alec closed his eyes tightly. Alec’s neck was his sweet stop and Magnus just couldn’t hold himself back when it came to it either. Alexander had such a yummy and kissable neck, but he made sure that he kept himself in place this time, no marks. He knew that Alexander loved the hickey last time, but if Magnus was about to plant it on Alec again, it was going to be somewhere where it was only going to be visible to Alec, hidden from the prying eyes of others and he groaned softly, finding his fingers to be playing with the buttons of Alec’s shirt again and he glanced down upon his boyfriend, whose face was red, a hand over his mouth as he didn’t want to make too much noise.

Alec was embarrassed by how easily Magnus made him moan; he didn’t like being the only loud one. It was kind of… well, he was sure that Magnus liked it, but Alec himself was embarrassed of it and he was trying to hold himself back from moaning, but as Magnus’ lips fell upon his neck, it was impossible, so he decided to help himself a little bit, biting into the back of his palm when he felt Magnus’ tongue gently travelling up his neck and Magnus frowned a little bit when he saw that Alec was muffling back his moans and he slowly pulled back, Alec opening his eyes again and he cocked his head to the side -  _ it was already over?  _ But they didn’t-

“Why are you holding your moans back, Alexander?” asked Magnus softly, but also seriously and Alec’s cheeks turned even redder as he glanced down and then he made a long pause. Magnus bit his lip a little bit and then he gently cupped Alec’s cheek, making him look up and Alec’s breath shuddered. “You don’t like it?” asked Magnus and Alec shook his head. No, that wasn’t it at all! Magnus grinned when he realised what was bothering Alec. “Embarrassed?” he then asked and Alec in the end nodded and chewed on his lower lip. He wished that he could be more composed, like Magnus!

“Y-yeah,” muttered Alec and Magnus kissed his lips softly. “I… just, well,” said Alec. “I’m always being too loud and-and I just-”

“There’s never such a thing as you being too loud, Alexander,” said Magnus quickly and Alec looked up at him and then he shyly smiled. “I love how loud you get,” he said and winked.  _ He wondered just how much louder Alec could get if the two of them would actually go the whole way!  _ They always stopped at making out, it was Magnus that usually broke their kisses as he didn’t want to push Alec, but Alec was more than ready already! The thought of Alec getting even louder than usual made Magnus rock hard as it was and he cursed under his breath. “It’s hot, you shouldn’t be embarrassed,” said Magnus in the end and slowly tried to pull back, climb off of Alec, who Alec grabbed his forearm and he pulled him closer.

Alec pulled a bit too hard and Magnus ended up laying on top of Alec, who made a loud gasp when he felt…  _ oh!  _ Magnus looked flustered a little bit and he chewed on his lip, still trying to climb off of Alec, but in the end Alec’s pleading eyes made him stay in place. “You don’t want to?” whispered Alec, his voice small and vulnerable. It made him wonder - kind of - if Magnus didn’t want to take their relationship to the next level? Maybe it was still too early, but at the same time… well, he didn’t know. Magnus didn’t want to get to know him in  _ that _ kind of way?

Alec’s question stirred Magnus up even more and he gasped softly. “Oh, you don’t know how much I want to,” said Magnus, Alec almost moaning when he heard Magnus’ voice. Deep. Husky. Hot. Thick with lust and hunger. Alec arched his back and he could again feel something hard poking his thigh and he shuddered under Magnus again. And Magnus wasn’t the only one, Alec was also already painfully hard, always when he and Magnus were making out like this, it was just too much for him. 

“Then why hold back?” asked Alec and licked across his lower lip. “I got a perfect score at my oral examination today, don’t you think that I deserve a little reward?” asked Alec, trying to make it a joke, but Magnus’ laughter didn’t last for a very long time and then Alec just looked down, feeling his heart dropping to his stomach. Maybe it was because he lacked experience? Probably not, but at the time Alec was starting to get very self-conscious as he was the one that suggested going further, exploring each other more than just kissing and it was… “Is it a turn off that I’m a virgin?” asked Alec again and Magnus could feel that his boyfriend was now feeling self-conscious and he quickly shook his head. 

“No, not such a thing, no,” said Magnus and then chewed on his lip. “I just want you to be very sure. You being a virgin has nothing to do with me not wanting to do it. God knows how much I want to and you being a virgin just makes me want to do it more, being your first, fuck,” said Magnus and Alec smiled again. “But I don’t want to mess things up by going too fast- I want you to-” he started, but Alec leaned up and crushed their lips together as he wanted to show Magnus just how much he wanted it.

“Not too fast,” said Alec and shook his head. “I did think about it very seriously and I want it to be with you,” he mumbled and Magnus smiled softly. “My first time,” he said and then looked up. “If it’s okay with you, I mean if you want to. I don’t want it to be bad for you either,” said Alec quickly and Magnus chuckled softly and he dipped down again, kissing Alec’s lips and then he licked across his own lower lip. 

“Okay,” said Magnus in the end and Alec perked up. “I’ve been holding back so much, there’s so many things I wanna show to you,” he said and Alec shuddered with excitement. “Make you feel so good,” he said, winking and Alec gulped.  _ Yes, yes, yes.  _ “Not going the whole way yet, we need to work our way up to that, but if you’re up for it, I can still make you feel very good,” said Magnus and winked. Alec nodded very eagerly.

“Finally,” said Alec and Magnus chuckled. “Do you know how many times I had to… g-get off on my own after our dates like this? Making out with you is out of this world and I-I was suffering all on my own, for such a long time,” said Alec shyly and Magnus gave him a little pout and then he kissed his temple. 

_ Alec doing it on his own, thinking of him - Magnus wanted to hear more about that.  _ “I’ll help you this time,” said Magnus with a wink and Alec gasped softly when he felt Magnus pushing down against him a little bit and Magnus had to hold back his moan when he felt that Alec was indeed very much in the mood for doing it.  _ So hard already, pressing up against him and-  _

“Good, you gave me the biggest blue balls in the history,” said Alec and started laughing, but his laughter died out when he saw Magnus leaning closer to him and he shuddered, but he leaned right back up and crushed their lips together again, smiling when he heard Magnus’ adorable giggles. Oh, Alec was too much for him! Ah, he was just going to take for that and as that thought creeped into his mind, he was just giggling, kissing Alec softly, but he quickly deepened their lips and Alec gasped loudly when their tongues brushed against each other’s and sparks were again flying.

Magnus slowly reached down with his arm, holding himself above Alexander and he gently moved his legs, spreading them a bit wider so that he could nestle comfortably in between Alec’s legs and he smiled when he heard Alec’s moans above his ear, looking down at Alec again and he licked across his lower lip, going for Alec’s lips again, slowly kissing down his way, kissing along Alec’s jawline, down to his neck and that time he didn’t stop, Alec feeling Magnus unbuttoning the buttons of his shirt and he cracked his eyes open.

“Yes,” gasped Alec and Magnus smiled and pecked his lips again. He was just about to ask Alec if he was okay with his taking off his shirt, but Alec had already made it clear and was helping Magnus with undoing the buttons of his shirt. It was far too stuffy in the room, Alec wanted to get his shirt off as soon as it was possible and Magnus was visibly shook when Alec’s shirt was undone, pushing it open and he was just…  _ holy, shit, Alexander’s body was just so yummy.  _ Alec was amused with that reaction and he waggled his eyebrows. “Like what you see?” he asked and Magnus pushed down against him, Alec again feeling Magnus’ erection up against him.

“What do you think?” asked Magnus and Alec laughed breathlessly.

“More?”

“Mm-hmm, very soon, let me get a nice look at you. You’re so beautiful,” said Magnus, admiring Alec’s shirtless visuals and he was just smiling. Alec wasn’t used to get compliments like this and he was touched, reaching out to Magnus because he didn’t like that he was so far away and Magnus finally leaned down, Alec wrapped his arms around him and Magnus slowly pushed the shirt off of Alec’s shoulder, finding the perfect spot to leave a little mark on Alec and he gently sucked onto the skin, making Alec moan out loud and he quickly tried to hold back his voice again, but then he remembered what Magnus said and he smiled.

_ It was a turn on for him!  _

Sinking his teeth gently into the skin, Magnus licked around the tender area where he just left the mark and he smiled, Alec feeling as if he was floating again and he titled his head a little bit, looking at Magnus, who was licking his lips again and Alec snickered.  _ Magnus looked like he was getting to eat him.  _ Alec bit his lip - oh, wait, that was actually hot. Being eaten up by Magnus and Alec didn’t really get the time to keep entertaining himself when Magnus was peppering his chest with little kisses, feeling Magnus’ arms roaming all over his body.

Alec’s hands slowly slid down Magnus’ back, fingers slipping underneath his shirt - it wasn’t fair that he was the only one that was losing the layers of clothes that were keeping them apart.  _ Seeing Magnus shirtless was all that he wanted to see at that exact moment.  _ Magnus appeared to have such a nice body, Alec had imagined it how he would look shirtless so many times, but seeing it in person was just going to be glorious and Magnus didn’t leave Alec waiting for long, leaning up a little bit and he quickly took off his shirt, Alec’s eyes widening because-

“So much better than my imagination,” said Alec and Magnus chuckled.

“I’m glad,” he said.

“Can I touch you?” asked Alec softly and Magnus nodded, guiding Alec’s hand up to his chest and Alec gasped again. Magnus was firm in all of the right places, slowly sliding his hand down his chest a little bit, outlining the ridges of his muscles.  _ Gosh!  _ Alec noticed that Magnus’ breathing was getting heavier as he kept touching him and he looked up, Magnus’ eyes dark.  _ Magnus was stunning and Alec was just speechless.  _ “You’re beautiful,” said Alec and Magnus shuddered a little bit.

“More?” asked Magnus carefully and glanced down. Alec was wearing quite tight-fitting jeans and he could see just how much his boyfriend was pent up. Poor thing, he wanted to give him a… helping hand, so to speak. Or helping mouth, whichever Alec prefered. A little grin spread across Magnus’ lips as he saw Alec quickly undoing his belt.

“Please,” whispered Alec again.  _ Begged.  _ Pleaded. Magnus felt himself growing even harder because Alec was just sinful the way that he begged. And it was so easy to get him to beg, he’d never think that Alec had such a side to him, but he loved it. He was getting addicted to it and he dragged his teeth over his lower lip and Alec was just looking up at him. Wasn’t he going to help him with taking off his jeans? His fingers were all trembling and he couldn’t get the button to open up.

“Let me help you out,” said Magnus softly and Alec nodded, allowing Magnus to undo his jeans and Alec quickly shimmied his jeans down, now only in his underwear, laying on the couch and Magnus was again just observing him, Alec’s heart about to give out because the way that Magnus was looking at him made his heart beat with the speed of light and he quickly squirmed his legs together and he gasped.  _ Magnus watching him was turning him on!  _ Was that weird?

“I-is everything okay?” asked Alec and Magnus slowly came closer to him.

“ _ Kamu cantik, _ ” whispered Magnus and Alec’s eyes widened. He didn’t know what that meant, but he flushed even harder than before because it sounded kind of important. Magnus was just so distracted by the sight of Alexander that he didn’t even notice that he switched languages completely and Alec was now curious.

“What does it mean?” asked Alec and Magnus just flushed. 

“It means that you’re beautiful. Damn, seeing you like this got me so hot and bothered that I switched to Indonesian,” said Magnus and started laughing. “That’s… never happened,” he said and Alec was in awe.  _ Oh, just seeing him made Magnus like this?  _ And nobody has been able to do that to Magnus before?! Interesting! Alec was proud of himself and Magnus then gently tapped the bridge of his nose. “You look way too pleased with yourself now,” said Magnus and Alec just waggled his eyebrows. 

“Adorable,” said Alec and then pulled Magnus back down, quickly deepening their kiss and Alec’s head was again getting hazy from their deep and heated kisses, Magnus’ hand slowly travelling lower. He placed it on top of Alec’s stomach and little by little moved it lower, Alec being  _ very  _ responsive to the touches, his back arching and Magnus was just swallowing his every moan until he had Alec again shuddering underneath him, eyes half-lidded as Magnus pulled back and Alec couldn’t handle it anymore. His body needed release. “Magnus, I need you… please,” he pleaded.

“It’s okay, I’ve got you,” said Magnus and slowly hooked his thumb under the hem of Alec’s boxers and Alec could feel his heart hammering against his chest. Nobody has ever seen him naked - at least not like this. Alec again nodded when he saw that Magnus was checking if it was okay and in the end Magnus slowly pulled Alexander’s underwear down, releasing Alec from the restrains of the fabric of his boxers and Magnus gasped loudly because  _ holy fuck.  _

Alec was painfully hard, his hard cock laying hot and heavy against his stomach, Magnus’ mouth watering and he saw that Alec was again growing self-conscious. “So beautiful,” was quick to reassure Magnus and he quickly leaned back down, kissing Alec as fingertips continued teasing Alexander further, Magnus moaning into his mouth as they kissed. Magnus wrapped his fingers around the base of Alec’s cock and Alec’s toes curled as Magnus slowly moved his hand.

“Oh,” mumbled Alec. It was such a different feeling than doing it on his own, it felt so much better and he opened his eyes again because he wanted to see Magnus, crushing their lips together again and Alec’s gasps and moans filled the room as Magnus sped up, twisting his wrist, giving Alec a little teasing squeeze at the tip. “Yes, yes,” was chanting Alec. Magnus felt like he was about to burst, but his own needs didn’t matter anymore, he wanted to give Alec the best experience that there was.

“Alexander,” whispered Magnus and Alec looked at him. “Tell me-”

“Mm?”

“What kind of things was I doing to you in your imagination?” asked Magnus, Alec arching his back because it was just something about the tone that Magnus asked him… it was so hot. Magnus’ voice was low, gentle, yet… “It’s okay, don’t be shy,” he said and Alec swallowed thickly.

“You were, um… Oh, God, feels so good,” said Alec and Magnus’ smile widened once again, licking Alexander’s lower lip and his grin was driving Alec mad.  _ Fuck, fuck, fuck.  _ If only Magnus would speed up the movement of his hand, oh, it would all be over and… 

“I was doing what, Alexander?” asked Magnus and Alec gulped. 

“Kissing and,” said Alec, trying to think really hard of what he thought when he was getting off to Magnus. “Touching me like you’re doing now and… Magnus, more, please,” said Alec and Magnus kissed him softly again. “Faster, I-”

“I was using only my hand?” asked Magnus and Alec shook his head.

“No, you were also using your mouth and-and tongue,” said Alec and Magnus smiled softly. Alec was so adorable, so… so freaking obedient. “And fingers,” carried Alec on. “On me… in me… Magnus,  _ please,  _ I can’t-”

“Fuck,” moaned Magnus because he was getting off on this alone - Alec’s moans, his imagination and the visuals were almost too much for him. He could feel Alec’s cock throbbing in his hand and by the way the other was moaning and whimpering under him, he knew that Alec was close. “Close?”

“Yeah,” said Alec, the pleasure building up, moving his own hips and he mewled as he was thrusting his hips back into Magnus’ fist, who tightened it just a little bit on purpose and Alec’s toes were curling, his thighs shivering and he was a mess, holding onto the edge of the couch, closing his eyes, throwing his head to the side. “Ah… God, Magnus, I’m gonna come,” said Alec and Magnus nodded.

“That’s it, come for me, Alexander,” said Magnus. No, he didn’t say it -  _ it was an order.  _ Alec had just found out that he loved when Magnus would tell him what to do… in the bedroom and it was just such a turn on for him. “Show me how good you feel. That’s it, take the pleasure,” said Magnus, who was now moaning alongside Alec and just a few more jerks and Alec was coming all over Magnus’ hand.

“Coming, I’m… Magnus,  _ fuck- _ ” gasped Alec and Magnus smiled, allowing Alec to ride out his orgasm, slowly slowing down his hand. Alec was shivering, his legs were trembling, his entire being was… floating somewhere among the clouds because he wasn’t on planet Earth at the moment. Magnus showed him the stars and he needed a minute, laying there and was trying to wrap his head around the fact that  _ how freaking good it felt being with someone that you loved.  _

Holy-

“Alexander,” said Magnus softly, looking around for a tissue or- Alec was silent! Magnus’ heart fell to the pit of his stomach and he quickly straightened himself up. “Alec, are you okay? Shit, did I overdo it?”

“Magnus, where are we?” asked Alec and Magnus arched his brow.

“Um… in my loft?” he asked, completely puzzled.

“Are you sure?” he asked and then a giggled escaped past his lips. “It’s heaven, this isn’t Earth anymore,” he said and Magnus finally realised what Alec was feeling. 

Feeling relieved, Magnus grinned. “You dork,” he said and then he shook his head. “Wait here, I’ll go grab us some tissues,” said Magnus and Alec looked around. 

“Oh, I don’t think I can stand up anyway, I’ll just… lay here,” said Alec and Magnus laughed softly, running over to the bathroom and he came back quickly, not wanting to leave Alec alone too long and by the time that Magnus came back, Alec was already sitting up and Magnus handed him a wet tissue. “Wow, that was amazing,” said Alec and Magnus smiled. 

“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” said Magnus happily and Alec smiled and then started looking for his boxers, quickly putting them on, Magnus whistling when he bent over to pick them up and Alec quickly looked around. “What a view,” said Magnus and Alec just rolled his eyes, but the smile on his face remained and he then sat down next to Magnus and was just… processing, processing and then he looked over at Magnus. 

“What about you?”

“Me?”

“You still didn’t… I mean it’s unfair if it’s just me, right?”

Magnus laughed softly. “Not unfair, this was about you, you don’t need to worry about me,” said Magnus and grinned. “You can get all dressed up and I’ll just go take care of myself over to the bathroom, it’s fine, I-”

“Let me,” said Alec and Magnus’ cock throbbed again.  _ Fuck.  _ “If you’d like.”

“Yes,” was all that Magnus said because how could he  _ not _ . He also knew that he wouldn’t need long because he was already on the edge basically the whole time. Alec was kind of nervous because he wanted to make Magnus feel good as well, so he touched him how he usually touched himself, doing what he knew felt  _ good _ and he wasn’t wrong. He had Magnus moaning out his name and coming in a matter of less than a minute. Magnus couldn’t be bothered; it felt amazing and Alec was just… happy. 

God, he was so happy, taking the next step in their relationship, little by little was amazing and he spent the next hour right there on that couch, next to Magnus, nuzzled next to him, listening to Magnus whispering sweet little nothings into his ear and Alec was blessed.

  
  



	20. Chapter 20

“You seem in a good mood,” commented Alec as he glanced over to Marcel. Alec was grabbing lunch with Underhill and his boyfriend that day after classes, Magnus was busy as he was again discussing with his publishing house about the printing process, which was about to start quite soon and Magnus was just so excited about his new book. It was quite like his others, but it felt different this one as he wasn’t writing it alone and it was a product of not only himself, but Alexander as well, he did have quite a few things to say while he was writing it and Alec was as equally excited about it.  _ The book was their baby and as much as it was kind of embarrassing to think of it like that, he was also very excited about it.  _ He was proud and happy that Magnus included him and his opinions so much into the writing process - he just hoped that Magnus’ fans weren’t going to be disappointed. Perhaps it would feel different?

Alec then glanced back up and looked over at Marcel and Underhill, the blonde one was shaking his head, while the other was just bursting with excitement. Indeed, Marcel was more than in a good mood and Underhill snorted. “He’s been like this since yesterday,” said Underhill and then he chewed on his lip. “Ever since the news came out that his favourite author is coming out with a new book in a couple of months and that he already started working on the next book, Marcel is just like this and I’m not sure what to think. Babe, should I be jealous?” asked Underhill, joking of course and Marcel glanced over to him and then gave his shoulder a little playful poke.

“Don’t be silly,” said Marcel and Alec just laughed. Oh, he could get him very much though - he was like this when he heard good news from any of his favourite authors, especially from Prince of Edom! He still had the last book to read and he could easily find some free time to read it, but he didn’t want the story to end. He was loving the fourth book so much and he was stalling on purpose. “I’m just… you don’t understand, Teddy,” said Marcel and pouted. “M. A. Matthews has been taking a little bit of a time off as he told us that his muse has been running dry so I’m just…  _ two books,  _ Theo! Two books, how am I supposed to handle this?!” asked Marcel and Alec perked up at the mention of the author.

It shouldn’t really come as a surprise as M. A. Matthews was one of the bigger names out there among the romance genre, but still it was quite… interesting! Alec blinked a few times and then he looked away a little bit and he tried not to giggle, but he was entertaining himself with the idea of how Marcel would react once he would find out that Magnus - M. A. Matthews - was a friend of his. They didn’t know each other quite well, but they got along on the day of that double date. And if Marcel would find out, he wondered how he would react, biting into his lip and he then chuckled.

Also it was interesting how it turned out that Magnus was Marcel’s favourite author. But also - and it registered only then - Magnus was working on a new thing? Already? The book didn’t get even published and he didn’t tell him what he was working on! It was probably announced just yesterday and Alec was also horrified in himself that he didn’t read it online and he just bit his lip.  _ Well, he wasn’t really spending much time online these days, evil studying was completely taking over all of his spare time.  _ But still, Magnus was working on something new already! How awesome was he?!

Alec was just in awe and he was very intrigued and interested in learning what kind of a book he was working on. Pouting a little bit, Alec was kind of disappointed that Magnus didn’t tell him in person and he hummed. Maybe he wanted it to be a surprise? But then why announce it to his fans? Alec chewed on his lip but wasn’t really annoyed, he was more so in awe and he wanted to know what the book was about! Turning over to Marcel, Alec clasped his hands together and then smiled.

“Did he say what the new book is going to be about?” asked Alec happily and Marcel’s eyes widened.  _ Oh!  _ Alec was a fan of him too? Marcel didn’t know - Underhill wasn’t into romance novels at all, so he didn’t know him, but Marcel was always very happy to meet fellow fans and he just happily clasped his hands together.

“Are you a fan of him too?” asked Marcel and Alec flushed a little bit, but then he nodded.

“Yeah, I’m quite a big fan of his writing,” said Alec in the end and then bit his lip. Oh, it was so tempting to tell them that it was Magnus, but he knew that he shouldn’t. He should ask Magnus about it at first, not just… well, yeah. He understood why Magnus didn’t want others to know, but then again he didn’t have any problems telling him about it! His pen name when they barely knew each other and he just cocked his head to the side. Maybe Magnus wouldn’t mind it then. Hmm. 

“You are?” asked Underhill. “I didn’t know you were into romance novels, didn’t you say that you hate them?” asked Underhill because the last time that he checked, Alec was always bitching about the romance novels ruining the modern literature and Alec quickly shook his head. Underhill wasn't a fan, but he didn’t mind romance novels either - he wasn’t a consumer, but they didn’t bother him. It was always funny to him how many things Alec had to say about romance novels, so it was a surprise to hear that he was a fan of M. A. Matthews!

“I… He is different,” said Alec and then glanced down. Oh, was he acting suspicious? “I mean the way he writes, it’s very different from the other authors and I don’t know, it’s just interesting to read his works,” said Alec and Marcel was quick to nod in agreement. Underhill narrowed his eyes and then hummed.  _ Okay, very well then.  _ He did hear good things about him from Marcel, but now that Alec was actually praising his works as well, he was getting that maybe he was different from the other writers as well.  _ Maybe he should check him out too?  _

“Right?” asked Marcel happily and then he happily hummed happily. “Oh, this is so cool to finally meet someone that likes him as well,” said Marcel and Alec’s smile was growing. Ah, he was so itching to tell him, but he bit his tongue and decided to not spill all of the secrets, at least not yet and he just hummed happily. Right, so he said that he was writing a new book, huh? Alec was going to ask Magnus all about it!

“Indeed,” said Alec. 

“It’s such a pity that he never has a book signing or anything,” said Marcel and pouted a little bit. “We don’t even know his real name, only his last name and God knows if that even is real,” said Marcel and whined. Underhill chuckled there next to him and Alec was literally buzzing to tell him. “I respect his privacy though,” he said. “So, which is your favourite book of his?” asked Alec and Marcel glanced up at him. Alec’s smile widened and he just happily sighed.

“All of them,” he said and Marcel giggled.

“I know, right? It’s so hard to pick!” said Marcel and then he hummed. “I wonder what the new one is about,” said Marcel and then he hummed. “Well, whatever it is, I am sure it will be amazing. I mean he always comes out with a hit after a hit,” he said and Alec was happily agreeing with everything that Marcel said.  _ Magnus was a genius, he was a genius indeed.  _

“I know!” said Alec and then he hummed. “ _ It’s You  _ is quite different in many ways,” he said, not paying attention to what he was saying and Marcel arched his brow because he wasn’t quite sure what Alec was on about. “I mean it’s really amazing, it’s just… well, different,” he said and then he nodded. “I can’t wait for it to be finally published,” he said and Marcel rubbed the back of his neck. 

“It’s You?” he asked and Alec nodded.

“Yeah, the new novel that’s coming out in a couple of months,” said Alec and then he cocked his head to the side. “What? What did I say?” he asked and Marcel’s eyes widened because-

“Wait, that’s the title of the new novel?” asked Marcel and Alec nodded.

“Yes,” said Alec, as if it was common knowledge to everyone - but it wasn’t. The fact was that the title of the new novel still wasn’t known to others and when he remembered that, he quickly bit his tongue and he glanced down.  _ Fuck, now what?!  _ Alec was just trying to think of something to say, but Marcel was just-

“The new title has already been released, oh my Gosh, this really is the best week ever!” said Marcel and then he giggled. “I guess I was so excited about the news that he’s writing a new book already that I completely blanked out the fact that the title was already released to the public,” said Marcel and Alec was sweating, but then he relaxed a little bit.  _ Good.  _ This was freaking close! “It’s You - sounds like it’ll be very good,” said Marcel and Alec nodded, but he didn’t dare to speak more.

Alec didn’t know what more Magnus told to the public, so he was just sitting there and was laughing awkwardly. “So, um the new book, did he say what it’ll be about?” asked Alec and Marcel clasped his hands together.

“He was very mysterious about it in his post,” said Marcel. “But he said that it’ll be different - that it’ll be more of a personal story to him,” said Marcel and Alec perked up.  _ Wait, what?!  _ How personal? What was it going to be about? Was Magnus going to…  _ Was the Prince coming back?!  _ Alec had so many questions and he couldn’t wait to ask Magnus about it! “And honestly, I can’t wait for it. Something different - I want it,” said Marcel and Alec nodded.

“Now I’m very curious,” said Alec. 

“Why do I feel like I’m third-wheeling?” suddenly chimed Underhill in. He had a lot of fun seeing his boyfriend and his best friend getting closer, but at the same time he wanted attention too! Was he being clingy? Probably and Alec just snorted. Marcel glanced over to him and then just pouted cutely, kissing Underhill and blonde just huffed under his breath. 

“I’m sorry, we didn’t mean to make you feel like this,” said Marcel and Underhill just wrapped an arm around him and pulled him a bit closer. Alec chuckled and then he hummed happily. Oh, he didn’t mind his friend being… clingy? He was exactly the same around Magnus and his smile widened as he continued to think about Magnus. 

_ Right, they had date plans later that week - Alec was taking him to the place where he was training archery!  _ After he told him the last time that he and Robert were going there, Magnus was very keen on seeing Alec do archery and Alec was more than happy to show him around and also introduce a part of him that not many people knew. And in a way, Magnus was going to get to know him a bit better as well! Ah, he was so excited!

* * *

“No, I missed again,” whined Magnus cutely and then turned around, holding the bow and he shook his head. Magnus and Alec were on their date, Alec was literally glowing with happiness because he was totally in his element and it was just so special to him to show off a side of him to Magnus that he still didn’t know. Magnus was always very in awe -  _ Alexander was amazing at archery, holy shit!  _ Magnus was just amazed and he didn’t really care that he was quite rubbish at it; he much prefered Alexander playing and him watching. Alec’s shoulders were broad, his slender fingers so perfectly holding that bow…  _ what a grip!  _

Yep and Magnus’ mind was pretty much in the gutter for the entire time. He couldn’t help himself - how much he wished to be that bow and arrow, how much he wanted Alec to stroke him like that. Alec smiled softly and he then walked closer to Magnus, who was now just sighing and shaking his head. “Now, you’re doing amazing,” said Alec and Magnus rolled his eyes. Nope, not really. At least he didn’t feel like he was doing amazing. “I mean it, I’m not just saying it. For the first try, it’s amazing. You said that you never did archery before this, right?”

“Yeah, never.”

“See, for your first try ever, it’s quite good actually,” said Alec happily and Magnus narrowed his eyes.

“But I didn’t even come close to the target,” said Magnus and Alec just shook his head.

“Oh, worry about hitting the target later,” said Alec and Magnus cocked his head. “Right now it’s important for you to learn how to be one with the bow. You know - to get to know how it feels in your hands? To be able to hold it right and your posture is quite amazing,” said Alec and Magnus snorted.  _ He was kidding or was he being serious?  _ “Though try lowering your shoulders a little bit and I think you’ll be able to have much better control over your aim as well,” said Alec and winked.

“Lower it how?” asked Magnus as he grabbed another arrow, feeling too lazy to walk over to the target to get that one. Magnus tried mimicking the way that Alexander showed him the right posture before and he then tried lowering his shoulders, but with that he lowered his hands as well and like that he was never going to be able to hit the target. He was doing something wrong, he just knew it! “I don’t get it, I don’t think I’m doing it right,” whined Magnus again. “Stop laughing and help me!” said Magnus and Alec just nodded and then walked over to Magnus and stepped behind him.

“Well, you’re moving your arms as well and that’s why… lift them up again,” said Alec and Magnus did as he was told, aiming at the target again and Alec smiled. “Good, now,” he said and placed his hands on top of Magnus’ shoulders and softly pushed them down. As he did that, Magnus’ arms almost moved, but he quickly adjusted them and then he nodded. “Like this, much better,” said Alec and Magnus was smiling all the way through those… very up close and personal instructions. Oh, Alexander knew what he was doing and Magnus was there for it!

“Yes?”

“Hmm, yes,” said Alec and then dropped his hands onto Magnus’ hips and then tried moving them a bit to the side, thus pushing himself a bit closer and Magnus then chuckled. “Now this should be it,” he said and adjusted Magnus’ arms again. Alec was completely immersed in the archery that he didn’t realise how close the two of them were. But Magnus sure did and it was hard for him to focus on the archery when he had Alexander’s strong body pressed up against him like that.

“Like this?” asked Magnus and he gasped softly when he felt Alec’s hot breath against his nape.

“Perfect,” said Alec and then smiled. “Try shooting,” said Alec and Magnus nodded, Alec still standing behind him and he then glanced over to the target again and with a deep breath, he just shot the arrow, his eyes widening when he actually shot the target. He barely hit it, but he did and he let out a very excited gasp and then he turned around to Alec, who was just drooling over it all.

It hit him then how close they were, but it was just so hot - Magnus doing archery and he was smiling. “Did you see that? I actually hit the target, that was-”

“So hot,” said Alec and before Magnus could actually say something else, Alec pulled him by the back of his neck and crushed their lips together, both of them moaning at the kiss and thankfully Magnus was the one that was thinking rationally - alas they were still in public and he quickly pulled back, Alec flushing all the way up to his ears and Magnus gave him a little nod. “I-I mean very, very good,” said Alec and Magnus was laughing.

“You’re a very good teacher - very hands on,” he said and winked. Alec’s flush deepened and he glanced down - was it too much? Oh, Alec didn’t mean to… ugh, it was just… well, he just- “Oi, you okay? Your face is very red, are you-”

“Yes, very okay, I, um,” said Alec and then took in a deep breath. "Just seeing you doing archery makes me feel things. So, so many things," said Alec and Magnus grinned.

"Tell me about it. Watching you before - damn. Such grip," teased Magnus and Alec grinned. "So freaking hot," said Magnus and Alec dragged his tongue over his lower lip. Magnus' pupils were dilated -  _ his eyes so dark. _

"Magnus," said Alec and Magnus leaned up against him and Alec tried really hard to focus. 

"Yes?" asked Magnus and his voice was low.

"How about we get out of here and over to your place?" asked Alec and Magnus pulled him in for another kiss. Alec gasped softly as they pulled away and Magnus gave him a little wink after they parted.

“Though you’d never ask,” said Magnus and Alec grinned. 


	21. Chapter 21

“Magnus?” asked Alec and Magnus hummed, lifting his head a little bit, glancing down at Alec, who was laying next to him, a little smile on his lips. They were over at Magnus’, laying on Magnus’ bed and just enjoying their little moment together. It was a long day for Alec at the university and when he came over to Magnus’, he just wanted to cuddle, nothing more. Cuddling and snuggling his boyfriend after a long day was the best remedy and how could Magnus possibly say no to that? Alexander was beyond precious. He could tell how exhausted Alec was after the long day, so he decided to take their cuddling over to the bed. And he loved the way Alec was holding onto him - Alec had his arm placed over Magnus’ chest and he had his head somewhere closer to Magnus’ shoulder. Adorably, looking up and Magnus just grinned.

“Mmm?” asked Magnus softly and gently reached down with his hand, removing some of the hair that was falling over Alec’s eyes and he just beamed at him. Alec smiled and then he just snuggled closer to his boyfriend, but there was something that he wanted to ask - about Magnus’ new book. He was meaning to ask about it for a while now, but it… somehow it never really came up. Also Magnus himself didn’t really bring it up himself, but Alec decided to finally ask. Hopefully Magnus was going to give him some answers and Magnus just giggled when he saw that Alec was thinking about what to say. “What’s on your mind?” asked Magnus and Alec smiled.

“Well,” said Alec and Magnus gave him a little nod again. “I’ve heard that you’ve announced that you are already working on your next book,” said Alec and Magnus chuckled softly and then he nodded again. Since that talk with Marcel, Alec did go check it out online and there indeed was the news - Magnus working on his next work already and Magnus gave him a little sheepish smile and he hummed.

“Ah, so you’re keeping up with the news about me online now?” asked Magus and Alec rolled his eyes fondly and then he just shrugged.

“Well, duh,” said Alec and Magnus started giggling again. “No, but, this new book, yeah?” asked Alec and Magnus gave him a little nod. “You’re working on it alone?” asked Alec and Magnus gave him a little nod. He knew what Alec was asking him - if he didn’t need his help with typing. It was sweet, but this was something different; the book itself was going to be very different and it was just something that he needed to do alone. That plus Alexander had his own things to do in his spare time. But he wouldn’t mind working with Alexander in the future again. “Why didn’t you tell me that you started working on a new book?”

Magnus hummed and then he took in a deep breath. “I was meaning to,” said Magnus and Alec arched his brow.

“But? You told everyone online about it and not to me in person?” asked Alec and there was a little pout coming upon his lips and Magnus huffed under his breath. True, he should have told Alec in person first, but at the same time he wanted it to be a surprise. Then again… he should have expected that Alexander would be reading news about him online - he was following his Instagram, right? Magnus puffed his cheeks and then he just cupped Alec’s cheeks softly and Alec was just frowning.

“I’m sorry, I should have told you in person first before sharing it online with my readers,” said Magnus. “Please don’t be upset,” said Magnus, but he understood that Alec had every right to be a little bit upset about it; after all, he shared the news with complete strangers, but not with his boyfriend first and he got how that would leave Alexander just a little bit sad. Alec cocked his head to the side and he quickly shook his head - that was not it at all. He wasn’t upset, he was more curious about the book. 

“Oh, I’m not really upset,” said Alec and Magnus sighed in relief.

“Well, still, I apologise for not telling about it to you sooner,” said Magnus and Alec just leaned up to press a kiss upon Magnus’ lips and the older one just smiled and gently rubbed his nose against Alec’s, giving him the infamous eskimo kisses, which made Alec giggle and he cutely scrunched his nose.  _ Adorable, Alexander was just adorable.  _

“It’s okay, really,” said Alec and Magnus smiled. Alec really didn’t mind it, he didn’t want to pry too much into Magnus’ life. He was still allowed to have his privacy even if they were dating and Magnus just happily hummed.  _ Alexander was just so amazing, he never got upset, did he?  _ And for his first relationship ever, he was doing amazing. He was a lot more mature than any of his exes and he was truly blessed to be with him. Alec was all-in-all beyond amazing. “But, do tell, do tell - what it’s about?” asked Alec as he was very curious to learn about the book. 

“It’s going to be a lot different from the rest of my books so far,” said Magnus and he felt his heart fastening a little bit because he had big plans this time, actually, but he was also very nervous about it. Still, he wanted to do it and Alec perked up. Oh, yes, that was what he said on the online article too - that the book is going to be a lot more personal? Alec wondered what that actually meant because Prince of Edom books were also very personal, no? In a way, at least. Still, he was very interested and invested as he knew that he was going to love everything that Magnus wrote. He was in love with his writing after all.

“Different, how? You said that it’s going to be more of a personal story?” asked Alec and Magnus gave him a little nod. “Is the Prince of Edom coming back?” asked Alec happily and Magnus chuckled, but then he shook his head as that was exactly what he had planned, but there were still some aspects of the Prince persona that he created that were going to be included in his book. He didn’t want to give away too much before he’d be able to actually finish his book.

“Kind of,” said Magnus and then hummed. “I mean, I don’t know if I will ever write under that pen name again, but,” said Magnus and then he made a little pause. “It’s going to be different and it’s a secret so far,” said Magnus and Alec’s eyes were glowing. “It’s something i never actually thought I’d be able to do and-and, well, it’s kind of because of you,” said Magnus and Alec’s eyes were growing.  _ Because of him? What did he do, though? It was a good thing?  _

“What? Now you have me very curious,” said Alec and Magnus laughed.

“It’s a secret, darling,” said Magnus and winked. Alec pouted and then he placed his head back down against the pillow. Oh, it was comfy there on Magnus’ bed - the heat of Magnus’ body and the softness of the bed were making him feel relaxed.  _ Really relaxed.  _ “It’s also… a surprise, it wouldn’t be a surprise if I gave away too much, right?” asked Magnus and Alec nodded. He had a good point, after all. But it was still - Alec was very bad at being patient. 

“I’m very bad at being patient,” said Alec and pouted.

“You’re adorable,” said Magnus and then he hummed. “I promise for the waiting to pay off in the end and I promise that you will be the first person who will get to read the book,” said Magnus and Alec’s eyes again lit up. That meant a lot to him - to be the very first person to read Magnus’ new book. “After all, you made me kind of inspired to write it,” said Magnus and winked. 

That meant so much to Alec - that he managed to inspire Magnus to write something.  _ To be his muse!  _ Oh, Magnus didn’t tell him that he was his muse, but he interpreted it that way and he just happily beamed up at Magnus. “Oh, that’s so exciting, I’m your muse, Magnus!” said Alec happily and Magnus started laughing out loud. Not because it wasn’t true - it totally was, Alexander was his muse - but it was the way that Alec said it. He sounded just so adorable and excited. He was just too much for him to handle and Magnus just pressed a long kiss upon his cheek.

“Indeed, you are my muse,” said Magnus and Alec happily sighed.

“I am Prince’s muse,” said Alec happily and Magnus just giggled and leaned down to press another kiss upon his adorable boyfriend’s lips. 

_ There wasn’t a more adorable muse out there even if Magnus wanted to find it! _

* * *

“Jace, take that glass away into the kitchen,” whined Alec as he was getting ready for Magnus, who was coming over. It was a few days later and Magnus was coming over to their apartment for a change - Jace was going to meet him finally in person. But Jace was also heading out quite soon to go out on a date with his girlfriend, so it was perfect time for Magnus and Alec to hand out all on their own - again. Alec was beyond excited, but he was also fussing all over the place, trying to make it completely clean before Magnus would get over there. Jace wasn’t co-operating at all, though!

Jace snickered, but he did pick up the glass that was on the coffee table and he carried it into the kitchen. It wasn’t like Alec to be nitpicking like this about cleanliness of their apartment - that was always more of a Jace’s thing, always driving Alec insane by placing things away. Alec wasn’t a messy person, but he also didn’t feel like cleaning up all the time - his motto was  _ why put things away when l’ll be needing them soon?  _ After Jace was done cleaning up, Alec could never find his things and it was honestly quite annoying. Or when he would want to watch TV and Jace would be cleaning around and blocking his view to TV. 

“Woah, we should invite Magnus over more,” said Jace as he was laughing, stepping out of the kitchen and Alec just rolled his eyes. “No I mean it - it’s good to finally see you like this. Being so keen on cleaning up,” said Jace and Alec just stuck his tongue out, but he didn’t have the time to keep on bickering as he was also very busy to place the pillows on the couch in order and Jace was just laughing as he watched his brother. Oh, this was quite interesting!

“Stop laughing and help me with the pillows already,” whined Alec.

“Look at you - I’m so proud, Alec. Magnus is such a good influence on you,” said Jace. “I’ll be sure to tell him,” said Jace and winked. Alec looked over to him and he quickly shook his head.  _ Oh, no, Jace wouldn’t be doing any of that!  _ Jace was going to meet Magnus, yes, but he promised that he was going to behave. Alec but his lips and then he folded his arms on top of his chest and Jace arched his brow. 

“Promise you’ll behave,” whined Alec and Jace grinned.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m always behaved,” said Jace and then he started laughing when he saw the look on Alec’s face. “Besides, I’m going out too, no? I will let you kids have the apartment all to yourselves, but do behave yourselves,” said Jace and then he just grinned when he saw the look on Alec's face.  _ Alec wasn’t so sure if he wanted Magnus to meet Jace in person anymore.  _

“Maybe this was a bad idea, you should go before Magnus comes,” said Alec and Jace just plopped down onto the couch and he shook his head.

“Nope, I’ll stick around,” said Jace and Alec’s face flushed. “He needs to gain my approval,” he said and then nodded. Alec face-palmed himself because it was clear that Jace was now just having too much fun and he wished that he could find a way to shut him up. It was just… Jace was annoying him on purpose! 

“Jace, please, don’t,” said Alec and Jace just sat back, placed his feet on top of their coffee table - which was usually against the rules - and Alec just rolled his eyes and then he decided to ignore his brother; it was probably for the best anyway. Ignoring Jace usually worked, but he also knew that his brother was just poking fun at him. He was exactly the same when Jace introduced Clary to him - it was just them being siblings, always teasing each other and Alec just smiled in the end as he knew that Jace was coming from a good place. 

Magnus needed to gain his approval, huh? Hilarious. 

Alec managed to put the pillows in order just in time as there was a knock at the door and Alec perked up and Jace happily rubbed his palms together.  _ Show time!  _ Alec didn’t like the way that Jace was smiling. Still, Alec was beyond excited to have Magnus over and he happily waltzed over to the door, Jace of course following him and Alec just rolled his eyes when he felt Jace breathing down his neck before he opened up the door for Magnus and he just hoped that Jace wasn’t going to embarrass him too much and he put on a big smile when he opened the door and when he saw Magnus standing there, his heart jumped and he shyly glanced down.

Magnus was smiling even before Alec opened up the door - he knew that that day was  _ big.  _ He technically never met any of Alec’s family, but that day he was meeting his brother and he was just so excited! It was another big step in their relationship and he was just beaming inside - he hoped that Jace was going to like him! Magnus chuckled when he glanced over to the side and saw a tall blonde standing next to Alec. 

“Magnus!” said Alec happily, completely forgetting that Jace was right there next to him and he just opened the door wider and stepped over to his boyfriend, kissing him softly and Magnus happily hummed in their kiss, cupping Alec’s cheek and Alec was about to kiss him for the second time until he heard someone behind him and realisation stroke him -  _ Jace was still there!  _ Right!

Alec’s cheeks were bright red as he quickly pulled back from their kiss and Magnus was just smiling when he saw Alec’s reaction, looking over to Jace again and he stepped closer to him, extending out his hand. “Hi, there, you must be Jace,” said Magnus and Jace glanced down at the hand and took it, shaking Magnus’ hand and he then nodded.

“The one and only,” said Jace and waggled his eyebrows. “It’s very nice to finally meet you, Alec speaks very highly of you,” he said and Magnus chuckled. “And a lot. It’s always Magnus this and Magnus that,” said Jace and Alec’s cheeks were getting redder by each passing second. But Magnus just grinned, finding it more than adorable - he was exactly the same, talk a lot about Alexander in front of his friends. 

“Jace, you promised that you won’t embarrass me in front of him,” hissed Alec and Jace looked at him.

“What? I didn’t do anything!” argued Jace back, the grin staying on his face and Magnus just stepped over to Alec.

“Now, now, I do find that rather charming and adorable,” said Magnus and Alec finally decided to let it go after that, his smile back and he then took in a deep breath and he and Jace took Magnus over to the living room. All three of them sat down and just chatted a little bit - unfortunately, Jace didn’t really have much time, but he decided to stay a few extra minutes, just getting to know Magnus a bit better and he had to admit it that he quite liked him. 

For starters - he looked at Alexander as if he was the most precious thing ever, like he should, and Jace was just so happy for the two of them. He soon received from Clary that she was already on the way to the restaurant where they would be meeting and that was his cue to leave. “Ah, yes, I suppose this is my cue to leave,” said Jace and Magnus pouted a little bit; he did have quite fun getting to know Jace, he’d like to get to know him better. And he would also love to meet Alec’s sister one day!

“Well, this was fun,” said Magnus. “We should all spend some more time soon?”

“Yes,” said Alec and then he made a little pause. “I was thinking that we could all go out for… I don’t know, lunch? And I’ll invite my sister too, she says she can’t finally wait to meet you,” said Alec and Magnus beamed happily; that sounded like an amazing plan after all.

“Sounds like a plan,” said Jace and winked. He knew how excited Izzy was to finally meet this man of Alec’s. He had a feeling that the two of them were going to get along just fine and he stood up, sighing happily and then he looked over to the two of them and then he nodded. “You two behave while I’m gone,” said Jace and Alec was again rolling his eyes while Magnus was just laughing. 

“Jace, don’t, I’m begging you,” said Alec, dragging Jace away from Magnus before he could embarrass him some more. “We’re adults, we know what we’re doing,” he said and Jace placed his hand on top of Alec’s shoulder.

“Just looking out for you buddy,” said Jace and took in a deep breath. “Look at you, you’re growing up so fast. You’re-”

“Again, I’m older,” said Alec and Jace sighed.

“Like I said, behave,” said Jace as he wasn’t listening at all and Alec just rolled his eyes. Magnus was laughing loudly over there at the couch - Alec and Jace were adorable. Their bond was hilarious and he could tell that Jace was just looking out for his brother, which was sweet. “Have fun, have fun,” said Jace and then just shook his head. Alec snorted.

“You too. Speaking of fun, I think you should get going, right? Remember what happened when you were late last time? Clary wasn’t too happy about it,” said Alec and Jace’s eyes widened and he then nodded.

“Good point, I really need to get going,” said Jace and grabbed his things, said his goodbyes and then was finally out of the door. Alec quickly hurried to lock the door and he then took in a deep breath, leaning against the door. Oh, that was… well, he was happy how that went. Magnus and Jace were getting along!

“Good, we’re finally alone,” said Alec and Magnus chuckled.

“Yay. But I’m happy that I finally got to meet Jace,” said Magnus and Alec happily walked over to Magnus and sat back next to him on the couch. “He seems like a nice guy,” said Magnus and Alec shrugged, but then he nodded.

“Yeah, he’s pretty cool,” said Alec.

“So, now that we’re alone,” said Magnus and Alec already leaning in for a kiss. Magnus chuckled and then cupped his face. “What should we do?” he asked and Alec came even closer to him.

“Oh, I know of a thing or two,” said Alec and Magnus giggled.

“I think we’re on the same page,” said Magnus and Alec kissed him hungrily.

* * *

Magnus was having a lot of fun hanging out at Alec’s - Alec took him into his room to show him off the rest of his book collection, something that he was too nervous to do the previous time that Magnus was there, and Magnus had to say that he was quite impressed.  _ Alec had so many books!  _ And after that they kind of decided to watch TV and just spend time like that. Neither of them were in the mood to be going out anyway, so a lazy evening in was more than perfect. However, not much of actual TV watching was going on as at one point the two of them started making out.

Alec was trapped beneath Magnus - the couch that he and Jace had wasn’t nearly as spacious and comfortable than the one that was over at Magnus’ place, so Alec made a memo to buy a new one, which was comfortable for making out. But, he didn’t mind it too much, Magnus’ lips upon his own made him forget about the discomfort, especially after the shirts came off -  _ Alec didn’t mind the couch anymore at all!  _

Feeling Magnus’ naked body being pressed against his own felt amazing and just as the moment was starting to get more and more heated, there was a particularly annoying knocking that could be heard from the entrance and Alec tried really hard to ignore it. It was probably Jace, right? Did he again forget the keys? Ugh. He didn’t need them anyway, he and Magnus were going to be home! Alas, he tried his best to ignore the knocking, but it was Magnus that pulled back.

“I think there’s someone at the door,” said Magnus, his breath faster and Alec whined.

“It’s probably Jace, he forgot his keys again,” groaned Alec. Jace was only gone for an hour or so, the date still wasn’t over, so it was the keys. Alec looked over to the coffee table and low and behold; the keys were there. Alec regretted locking the door then because that meant that he would have to stand up and he really, really didn’t want to.

“Oh, it’s okay, I'll go and carry them to him,” said Magnus happily, he really didn’t mind it. Alec sighed and then he nodded. He didn’t like Magnus being suddenly gone and he just pouted. “Where’s my shirt?” asked Magnus, looking around and Alec just waved it off. He didn’t want this to drag out for too long, so Magnus didn’t really need to put on his shirt, right?

“It’s fine, just give him the keys and then come back,” said Alec and waggled his eyebrows. “Jace is a big boy, he’ll get over it,” he carried on and Magnus just snorted, but managed to find his shirt and he quickly slipped it on much to Alec’s pout and he winked.

“I’ll be soon back and we’ll pick it right up from where we left off,” said Magnus. He then grabbed the keys and quickly walked over to the door, kind of in a hurry as well. Unlocking the door, Magnus then opened it and just handed the keys over, expecting to see Jace. “Alexander told me that you’re here for the keys? Here you have- wait, who are you?” slipped past Magnus’ lips as he was expecting to see Alec’s brother there, but instead he saw a man that he did not know and he just narrowed his eyes.

The man seemed to be as surprised to see him there as Magnus and he just made a step back. Alec wasn’t really paying attention to what was happening, yet, still waiting for Magnus, who was kind of taking long but he didn’t think of it too much. “I’m here to see Jace, I… who are you, again?” asked the man and Magnus looked around. Based on his looks and age, he would think it was Alec’s-

“I’m, um-”

“Magnus, come back,” whined Alec as he stood up, walking over to the door himself. He didn’t care too much if Jace saw him shirtless, so he just went there like that. “Give Jace the keys and tell him to stop cock-blocking us,” he said, walking around the corner, but his eyes widened, heart leaped up to his throat when he saw that it wasn’t Jace after all, but it was his father and everything seemed to slow down, making a step back and he blinked a few times. 

Alec’s breath was shaking, Magnus could see how pale he had gotten and he bit his lip; it was Alec’s father just like he expected and he panicked himself. He knew that Alec wasn’t out to his parents yet. The temperature in the room suddenly dropped as Alec forced himself to take in a breath. “D-dad?” asked Alec.

_ Fuck, fuck, fuck. _

Now what?!


	22. Chapter 22

Deadly silence fell in between the three of them in the room as Alec approached the door and saw his father standing there. At first he wanted to play it off as cool, he wanted to brush it off, but then he realised that he wasn’t wearing a shirt, which was already bad enough. But then was also the fact what he said before he stepped over to the door - Robert heard him, of course he did. And just like that Alec was pushed into the corner, faced with the truth that his father probably connected two and two together. Honestly, it felt as if someone had just given him a hard slap and he was struggling with what to do next. What to say next, he didn’t know what to do, glancing over at Magnus, who was also trying to think of what to do next. 

Magnus didn’t want to make things worse, so he didn’t know what to do. Alexander looked so small at the moment, even if he was by far the tallest one in the room. He looked so small, scared and all that Magnus wanted to do was to walk over to him and wrap his arms around him. Alec looked like he needed a big hug and it took every bit of Magnus’ self-control to not walk over there and soothe his boyfriend’s distress. But he knew that he couldn’t do that. It would only make things more obvious than they already were - which… how much more obvious could they get really? Still, he didn’t want to cross any lines, so he just stood back and tried to do something.

Maybe the two of them needed some alone time? Magnus kind of wanted to walk out of the apartment and give Alec and his father some space to talk it out, but the look in Alec’s eyes made him stay. He couldn’t just walk out when his boyfriend was on the brink of actually having a panic attack, eyes misty and Magnus shuddered, glancing back at Robert, who was just standing there and he didn’t quite… Magnus couldn’t read what was on his mind. Usually he was quite good at reading people, but not this time and his heart fastened a little bit because  _ Robert was silent.  _ He didn’t and wouldn’t say anything?

The matter of fact was that Alec was terrifying of this ever happening. He was comfortable with telling his siblings, even his mother, she was going to be understanding - Alec was pretty sure of that. But coming out to Robert was something that was just so scary. Alec had the plan to tell his father the very last, but now all of those plans flew just out of the window and he didn’t know what to do. His breathing was getting faster, he could feel his heart rate going up, his hands were feeling sweaty, cold and clammy and he was just-

Even if Alec wouldn’t have called Magnus by his first name, Robert would quite easily find out that this was  _ Magnus.  _ The one that he saw Alec texting the other day when they went out to do some archery, this was the significant other that he was telling him about. He was also the same boy that he saw him kissing a few weeks ago and he just shifted from one leg to the other, feeling awkward. The atmosphere in the room was beyond awkward to Robert and he tried to say something. He had just walked on his son and his boyfriend doing… stuff and he didn’t exactly know what to say. Maybe he should just leave?

Ever since Robert caught Alec and Magnus kissing that day, he was doing a lot of self-reflecting as he wasn’t quite proud of himself how he reacted to that. Robert was a man of traditional beliefs; he didn’t consider himself to be really religious, but there were still some aspects that he was raised into to believe. Still, he considered himself to be quite open minded, but the fact that any of his children could be anything else than straight also didn’t ever come into his consideration. So when he saw Alec and Magnus kissing, it shook him up. And he didn’t like it - not his son having a boyfriend, but he didn’t like his own reaction. Just for a slight second he found himself hesitating and he felt a little bit weird about Alec having a boyfriend. 

But did he love Alec any less? No. Never, even for a second. There was also the confusion - why wouldn’t Alec have told him? It made no sense to him, the two of them had a pretty open relationship, Alec always came to him for help or to tell him some things, but he didn’t. Robert wanted to ask Maryse about it - maybe he felt more comfortable with coming to Maryse about it - but she didn’t seem to know anything. Robert also didn’t tell her exactly what he knew. What he learned pretty soon on after reading some articles was that it wasn’t his business. It should take Alec as long as he needed to feel comfortable enough to come out to them. 

_ Never force things, never push it, never show any slight hesitation that you love them any less.  _

It was the first piece of advice that Robert did upon reading up things. He wanted to educate himself some more, so he dove deep. Quite honestly the feeling of being weird around Alec didn’t last for long, but he was disappointed. Disappointed in himself because it shouldn’t matter who his son loved; as long as he was happy that was all that mattered. But it did matter, even if only for a slight moment and that was something that Robert was trying to work on, to forgive himself. 

But also, he saw how happy Alec looked talking to the boy the other day. He literally lit up and that was all that mattered after all. And what Alec needed now was support, Robert could see how scared Alec looked and he made a step closer to his son, but Alec quickly took one step back and Magnus quickly stepped over to Alec - he couldn’t just stand back anymore and watch his boyfriend break apart. Coming out to parents could be tricky, so he was there for Alexander. No matter what happened, he was going to show him and the father that he had Alec’s back. 

“Why are you here?” finally spoke up Alec, his voice trembling and breaking. Robert’s heart broke when he heard just how afraid Alec looked and he just decided that it was maybe for the best if he kept his distance? Alec didn’t seem like he wanted to be approached, so he stopped trying to get closer to him as all that made Alec walk further away from him. 

“I, um,” said Robert. “I came here to see Jace, actually. I needed to apologise to him for a couple of things,” said Robert, trying to make his voice sound light, but the tension in the room was thick, but it was getting harder and harder on Alec.  _ Wasn’t his father going to ask what he walked in on?  _ Was he going to yell? Or just walk out being completely disappointed once he was going to learn the truth?

“Jace is on a date with Clary,” said Alec.

“Ah,” said Robert and then he puffed his cheeks. “I’ll, um, just call him instead,” he said and then smiled, but Alec didn’t smile back. He was walking on eggshells and Robert then looked back to Magnus, who was now looking down and he didn’t know what to do. Robert was deflecting by asking Alec about things? However, Robert wasn’t trying to deflect anything, he wanted to ask, but he also didn’t want to be pushy.

It should be Alec that should reach out to him, right? Robert chewed on his lip and looked down. It hurt seeing Alec like that and then he looked towards the door - should he leave? He could see that him being there was putting Alec into much more distress, but he also didn’t want to leave yet.  _ It could end up in a big misunderstanding.  _ Instead of leaving, he then looked over to Magnus, who gave him a little nervous smile and he then looked towards Alec, who was just standing there, completely petrified with fear. “I, um,” said Robert again and the other two quickly looked over to him. “Who are you, again?” blurted out Robert, not really thinking about it and Magnus took in a deep breath and Alec was just looking down, nervously twisting his fingers with his hand and he-

“Oh, I’m Magnus,” said Magnus quickly and Robert nodded. After a handshake, Magnus took a step over to Alec and then he laughed nervously. Again. Oh, he was nervous as hell. “I’m Alec’s friend, it’s very nice to finally meet you, sir,” said Magnus and couldn’t deny the way that his heart sunk when he introduced himself as only being Alec’s  _ friend.  _ Alec quickly looked over to him and shook his head.

“ _ No,”  _ mouthed Alec and Magnus arched his brow.

“ _ What? _ ” he mouthed back to him and Alec just shrugged. Alec knew that his father was no fool, he didn’t buy that they were only friends. Also, he didn’t like it - Magnus being introduced as his friend. Yes, it would make things much easier, but he could see it in his eyes. They were sad when he said that they were only friends and Alec just took a deep breath and then decided that it was maybe finally a good time for him to speak up as well. He just needed to know what to say, he hoped that Robert wasn’t going to be pissed off too much.

“Actually, Magnus is-”

“Yes, a friend,” lied Magnus again and then gave Robert a little smile. “You see the two of us were just hanging out,” he said and then nodded. “Alec spilled some water on himself while we were cooking before and-and because it’s like really hot in the apartment he forgot to put on a new shirt. We were supposed to be gaming, but then we thought that Jace was coming back and cock-block our fun of gaming,” said Magnus. Did it seem believable? Probably not. Gosh, he was so bad at lying, but at the same time, he was trying to protect Alec, who arched his eyebrow when he heard Magnus saying that.

“Magnus, that is the lamest excuse ever,” said Alec out loud and Magnus glanced at him.

“Shh, I got this,” said Magnus and then made a pause. “I’m trying to protect you here. Just follow along,” whispered Magnus and Robert couldn’t hear him, but it was so very obvious that he was lying and he crossed his arms on top of his chest.

“Magnus, I don’t think that my dad is that stupid,” whispered Alec back.

“Alexander, I… what should I do then?” asked Magnus and Alec’s eyes were unfocused again as he looked over to his dad again and then he took a deep breath, closed his eyes and he felt his heartbeat getting much faster again. Alec’s eyes fluttered open again and then he nodded. He didn’t imagine coming out to his dad like this, but there was no point in lying anymore. Seeing Magnus hurt before when he was introduced as a friend hurt him as well and in a long run… maybe this was as ready as he was going to get. He just hoped that his father was going to be supportive. 

“J-just be here for me,” said Alec, stuttering and Magnus quickly nodded. 

“Of course, always,” said Magnus softly and Alec’s lips nervously twitched, glancing down and he then reached for Magnus’ hand, the older’s eyes widening a little bit when Alec his hand, but then again, he kind of saw that coming. Alec forced himself then to look over to his dad, who was still standing there and waiting for Alec to make the next move and when he saw his son holding the other’s hand, he smiled. Just a little bit. 

“Dad, um, actually,” said Alec and Robert looked over to him and gave him a little nod. Alec then looked to Magnus, who just linked their fingers together and then gave his hand a tight squeeze, letting him know that he was there for him. Alec felt a little bit more courageous and then he finally decided to let it all out. “Magnus isn’t just a friend, he’s, um, my,” he said and he knew that the next words that were about to come out of his mouth were going to change things forever. “He’s my boyfriend,” he said and then finally allowed himself to breathe, looking down.

Oh, he didn’t dare to look at his dad. It was too scary.

Robert’s smile widened just a little bit and then he clasped his hands together.  _ Good, oh he was so happy!  _ Alec felt comfortable enough to tell him! That was a huge step and he then just chewed on his lip. He was about to say something, but Alec still wasn’t done as he felt adrenaline spreading over his body and he spoke up again.

“I know it’s kind of a shock, but, yeah, that’s the truth,” he said and then made another pause. “It-it might be shocking, I mean it’s big news and I-I get it that it’s a lot, so you don’t have to say anything, you can take some time to process things and-and hopefully you won’t be too disappointed or-” he started, but his voice trailed off and he then glanced down. He couldn’t finish the last sentence because just the sheer thought of disappointing any of his parents broke his heart. 

“Disappointed? Why- I-” stammered Robert and then he shook his head, Alec slowly lifting his head up and there was a little smile on Magnus’ lips. He knew that Robert was a good man. “No, I’m not disappointed, why would I be ever disappointed?” asked Robert and Alec shrugged and he chewed on his lower lip to prevent it from shaking. “I’m happy that you finally told me and if you think that this changes anything, that I love you any less?” Robert asked and Alec’s eyes were getting glossy again. “You’re very wrong, it doesn’t,” said Robert and when Alec blinked, tears slowly trickled down his cheeks.

_ Tears of relief and happiness.  _

His father, he just-

Accepted him! And Alec didn’t know how to handle it. He was hoping for this scenario, but now that he actually heard Robert say all of what he was hoping to hear, it just all got a little bit too much and he sniffled and then he looked over to his dad, who was now slowly going closer to him and instead of backing away, Alec didn’t. He stayed in place that time and Magnus slowly let go off his hand and he smiled. Oh, this was the best, he was happy that Robert was so accepting and it was all so touching. Magnus himself felt himself getting emotional and he needed to leave the two alone; they needed to talk in private, but as he wanted to leave, Alec quickly grabbed him by the sleeve of his shirt.

“Stay,” sniffled Alec and Magnus’ heart melted.

“You sure? You don’t want to have a private talk with your father? I mean this is-”

“Please, stay here,” said Alec, who was now wiping away the tears and Magnus just gave him a little nod. Alec was kind of a mess still, so he invited his father inside of the living room as they were all still just standing by the door, quickly slipping on his shirt that was tossed aside and he then just looked back to the other two. Robert was observing Magnus, who was now nervously smiling - ah, yes, he was studying him. To make sure that he was good enough for his son? At least that was what his own father would do. 

Alec was still on the verge of tears as he was pacing around - what should he do? Offer his father something to drink? He wanted a hug! Oh, Robert wasn’t a hugger though. Alec just stood there as he was trying to collect himself.  _ Robert accepted him, Alec was on cloud nine!  _ He was just shaking all over. He was so happy and Robert cleared his throat, now looking at Magnus, who quickly straightened himself up.

“This is the boy you’ve been texting the other day?” asked Robert. “The one that you told me that makes you so happy?” he asked and Alec nodded.

“Y-yes,” said Alec, sniffling again. “And-and he does, dad, Magnus is the best,” he said and Robert gave him another smile. “He helped me so much and-and I love him,” he carried on, Magnus’ eyes growing. Magnus knew that Alexander cared for him with all his heart as he did the same, but still hearing him say that he loved him was…  _ different.  _ It was, his heart warmed up and he bit his lip and then he glanced down. Oh, he needed to tell him that he loved him as well.

“Then that’s truly all that matters,” said Robert and then finally stepped over to Alec, whose lower lip was still trembling and before he knew it, Robert leaned up and pulled him in for a hug, Alec letting out a little gasp when he found himself in the warm embrace and he needed a little while before he finally registered that his father was hugging him. His body went limp, then he hugged his father back and Magnus placed his hand over his heart when he heard Alec’s soft sniffles getting louder a little bit and he chewed on his lip.

_ He loved Alexander as well.  _

He needed to tell him.

* * *

“How are you?” asked Magnus and Alec glanced towards him. They were in Alec’s room, Robert left after him and Alec had a bit of a longer talk and because Jace still wasn’t home, he decided that he should be going - he didn’t want to be disturbing the love birds anyway. Alec was just sitting on his bed and was just reliving what happened before; his father being just so supportive. Honestly, he didn’t expect it and he didn’t even know why. Maybe because they never really talked about it? Alec didn’t know what was Robert’s point of view about it all, but he was glad that he was proven wrong.

But then again, it could just be his own paranoia making him think that he was going to be hated for it.

“I’m okay,” said Alec softly and smiled. “I’m just… I’m happy,” he said and Magnus smiled softly, shifting on the bed, going closer to Alec, who was looking down, his hands in his lap and he just shook his head. “I expected a different reaction, man, I’m so happy I was proven wrong,” he said and Magnus smiled softly.

“I told you - your father is a good man,” said Magnus and Alec nodded. “Do you think I made a good impression on him?” he then asked and Alec cracked another smile and then he reached out for Magnus’ hand and he nodded.

“As if it’s impossible for you to make a bad impression,” said Alec.

“Oh, hush, I need him to approve of me,” said Magnus and Alec grinned.

“He does,” said Alec and Magnus nodded. It sure did seem that way, but he and Robert didn’t talk to each other a lot during the meeting. Still, he felt comfortable around the man and he just smiled softly. “Thank you,” said Alec and Magnus cocked his head to the side. “For being there, if you wouldn’t be here, I would pass out,” said Alec and Magnus didn’t laugh because he knew that Alec meant it.

“You looked so scared, you poor thing, of course - how could I have ever left?” asked Magnus and then wrapped his arm around Alec and pulled him closer. “Only after I was sure that everything was okay, but I’m glad that you told me to stay. Or I wouldn’t have heard you telling your father that you love me,” whispered Magnus into his ear and Alec perked up, his cheeks reddened and he looked over to Magnus. 

Oh, he actually said it, huh?! Was it really a surprise to any of them, though? 

“Y-yeah,” said Alec shyly and Magnus smiled softly, his heart happily dancing. “It’s not too early, is it? I mean I don’t know how long into relationship you have to be before you actually say it, but I-”

“I love you too,” quickly said Magnus as he didn’t want Alec to overthink it and Alec stopped talking in mid-sentence and he then happily giggled. Okay, so it wasn’t fast at all! Good! Good to know! And the way Magnus said it, he wanted to hear it again!

“Say it again?” 

Magnus chuckled, Alec was adorable. “I love you,” he said and Alec leaned against him, kissing him softly and he hummed as he pulled back, feeling Magnus’ fingers against his cheek and he nodded.

“I love you too,” he said and kissed the other again.


	23. Chapter 23

“Magnus,” gasped Alec softly and Magnus looked down upon his boyfriend’s gorgeous face and he smiled softly. The two of them were in Magnus’ bedroom, laying on the bed, naked. Alec was underneath Magnus; he loved when the other was hovered on top of him. Alec was laying back and enjoying the sensations while Magnus was jerking them off both at the same time. Magnus’ cock was pressed up against Alec’s, hot and hard and as Magnus moved his hand that was around both of them it made Alec just moan lewdly into Magnus’ mouth and Magnus was shivering all over, trying his best to hold his composure the best way that he knew how to, but it was kind of hard to - pun implied. Seeing Alec underneath him, feeling him close to him, feeling him  _ up next to him…  _ all felt just so freaking amazing and he licked across his lower lip and he gave Alec a little peck on top of his lips. 

“Feeling good, Alexander?” asked Magnus, but he didn’t really have to. He could feel how hard Alec was next to him, his cock leaking like crazy and it was such a yummy sight to behold. Alec was truly stunning. He was fisting the sheets as he was trying his best to hold himself back from moaning too much. As much as Magnus did say that he loved how vocal he got, it was still embarrassing, but he was slowly getting more comfortable with letting go of his self control. Not that he had much of it when it came to Magnus in the first place and Alec laughed breathlessly.

“Oh-oh, I feel amazing,” said Alec and Magnus grinned softly.

“Mmm, I can see that,” said Magnus and licked his lips again, his eyes focused on Alec’s cock and he shuddered softly. He was so big and thick, oh the things he would do to him. Magnus shivered and he then forced himself to look back up, but Alec could see where Magnus’ eyes were fixed and he chuckled. Oh, it was good to know that he could make Magnus Bane of all people speechless like this. 

“My eyes are up here,” joked Alec, but then cringed at his own joke because he knew that-

Magnus looked up again and then he chuckled softly. “Oh, I wasn’t admiring your eyes - though they’re stunning,” teased Magnus and tightened the hold around their cocks, pulling back a little bit, now wrapping both of his hands around their erections and Alec cried out gently as Magnus slowly rocked his hips, moving against him and the friction and the tightness were just so amazing.

Alexander loved that Magnus was so experienced - he knew exactly what to do to make Alec see the actual stars and he slowly rolled his head to the side and observed Magnus a little bit, who was completely lost in his own little dirty fantasy - not that he tried to hide it. And Alec loved it. Magnus’ eyes were dark, pupils dilated, he was slowly moaning along Alec, which made Alec’s cock stir up even more and because it was turning him on a bit more, Alec dared his own moans to get a bit louder as well, which only made Magnus’ cock harder and Alec spread his legs wider, trying to get Magnus back down on top of him, but Magnus was very determined to make him come like that, wasn’t he?

Magnus showed him a lot of new things; usually they would fool around like they were at the moment - they never went all the way, but Alec didn’t mind it because all the other things that Magnus showed him were so amazing, he could never complain. Magnus used his mouth on him the other day - Alec learned that blowjobs were completely amazing and they were out of this world. At least Magnus’ and Magnus felt Alec’s cock twitching, looking up at him and he snickered. 

_ Ah, was Alexander thinking about something naughty? _

“Mmm, you’re twitching so much, darling,” said Magnus and Alec flushed so prettily. Fuck, how much he loved that flush and Alec was still so easily flustered, but in a very good way. Even if he was easily flustered, he never shied away from telling him what he wanted and what he liked. He loved that so much about him and he got to learn that Alec loved dirty talk, at least when he whispered dirty little things into his ear, Alec got wild. And Alec loved to be kind of bossed around in bed, but they didn’t explore that too much as of yet. 

_ One day though, when Alec would be comfortable enough about it all - oh, Magnus was more than tempted to explore that bit of Alexander more.  _ It was just so yummy and he groaned when Alec himself moved his hips a little bit, fucking himself back into his fist and he laughed breathlessly. Always so eager to learn more and he loved teaching Alec all sorts of pleasures. Alec arched his back a little bit and he gazed down. As much as he loved what they were doing at the moment, he also wanted to try something else. Something new.

Going all the way?

Yes.

By the angel, Alec was so ready for it. Alec came over to Magnus’ loft all prepared to go all the way a few times now, but they never got to it mainly because Alec was too nervous to bring it up. But this time it was different, he felt very strong about it and he took in a deep breath. “Magnus,” gasped Alec softly as he could feel that the pleasure was already building up and he didn’t want it to be over too soon, not before telling Magnus that he was ready for more.  _ So much more.  _ “Stop,” he said and Magnus quickly looked up at him and he did as he was told. Magnus then leaned up and climbed back on top of Alec and kissed him softly.

“All okay?” asked Magnus softly and Alec nodded.

“O-of course,” gasped Alec.

“Wanna do something else?”

“Yeah,” said Alec and then he shyly smiled. “I-I didn’t tell you to stop because I didn’t like it,” said Alec and Magnus grinned. Oh, he knew that, he could see it - Alec was so close. So painfully hard, wrapping his hand around the base of his own cock because just watching Alexander like this was too much for him to handle. “I don’t want things to end too quickly, I wanna try something else, yes,” he said and Magnus quickly nodded.

“Of course, anything you want, love,” said Magnus softly and kissed Alec’s cheek, then he proceeded by kissing his lips again and Alec was just smiling among the shower of kisses that his face was receiving and he giggled. “No need to be shy, this is a safe space. You can tell me anything that you’d like to try,” said Magnus and Alec’s heart warmed up. Magnus was really the best!

“I’ve been thinking for a while now,” said Alec and Magnus nodded.

“Yes?”

“We’ve been doing a lot of stuff,” said Alec and then took in a deep breath. “All of it has been more than amazing. I mean, really - woah, you blow my mind every single time,” said Alec and Magnus grinned. Well, it was good to know!

“Thank you for the feedback - truly appreciated,” said Magnus and Alec snorted. “It’s been more than amazing for me as well,” he said and winked. Alec beamed at him, feeling proud that even if he didn’t have much experience and even if he didn’t know what he was really doing that he still managed to make Magnus feel good. That was all that mattered, really. 

“Good,” said Alec and then made a little pause. “How about we go all the way today?” asked Alec shyly and Magnus gave him a little smile and then he hummed. Magnus was smiling, but he wasn’t saying much and Alec cocked his head to the side. “No?”

“Yes,” said Magnus and Alec perked up.  _ Oh, yeah!  _ “I’d love to make love to you properly,” he said and Alec’s cheeks reddened, his heart beating much faster and he nodded. Oh, fuck, yes! That coming out of Magnus’ mouth was so freaking hot and he was so ready! “We need to discuss a few things first,” he said and Alec quickly nodded - oh, he was ready to discuss all of it.

“Okay?”

“For our first time,” said Magnus and Alec nodded. “I want you to have nothing but amazing memories,” he said and then glanced down. “I mean it’s not only our first time, but it’ll be your first time ever, so I want to be careful,” he said and Alec nuzzled into the palm against his cheek. Of course, Magnus would never hurt him! Alec trusted him with everything that he had and he just wrapped his arms around him and pulled him closer.

“You’re always so gentle and careful,” said Alec and kissed the tip of Magnus’ nose. “I’m ready,” he whined and Magnus chuckled.

“For our very first time - would you prefer if I top or bottom?” asked Magnus bluntly and Alec’s eyes widened a little bit. But then again it was good that they had this talk, so that there wasn’t going to be any confusion later or that Magnus wouldn’t do anything that Alec wouldn’t like and vice versa.

“What do you prefer?”

“Oh, I enjoy both, darling,” said Magnus and winked. Alec’s breath shuddered and he gulped.  _ That was so freaking hot!  _ “This is about you,” he said and Alec’s heart jumped. “Which do you feel more comfortable for your first time?” 

Alec gulped and then he glanced down. Being on top for their first time made him too nervous, he’d much rather let Magnus take control like usually. Also he was fantasising about Magnus- Alec cleared his throat and then he looked back up into Magnus’ eyes. “For you to be the top,” he finally managed to say and Magnus shuddered. God, yes! Magnus moaned softly and kissed Alec again. 

“Okay,” said Magnus and Alec smiled softly. “Now it’s very important for me to know,” he said and Alec nodded. “Ever had anything inside of you?” he asked and Alec’s eyes widened. Magnus needed to know. After all, it was Alec’s first time and he didn’t want to freak him out by just-

Alec gulped and then he shrugged. “Just fingers,” said Alec and an image of Alec laying sprawled on his bed, fingering himself and moaning loudly flashed in front of Magnus’ eyes and he gasped. “But it didn’t really feel good, it was just okay, I guess… I don’t know,” he said and then he glanced down. “It felt  _ very  _ good in my mind when you did it to me though,” he whispered and Magnus chuckled softly. Gosh, he was too adorable!

“I promise to make your fantasies come true today,” said Magnus with a wink and Alec’s got red again, feeling sweet anticipation burning in his stomach and he nodded.  _ Oh, he couldn’t wait for them to finally get to that part!  _ However, Magnus wasn’t going to go  _ all _ the way that day. Soon, but not quite yet. He wanted Alexander to get used to the feeling, to explore things a bit more before Magnus was finally going to be inside of him… Magnus bit his lower lip hard when he thought of that and he just cleared his throat.

“M-Magnus?” asked Alec when he saw that Magnus was zoning out a little bit. 

“Sorry, I was just- My mind is going in so many places,” said Magnus and Alec grinned.

“Oh,” he said and waggled his eyebrows.

“Oh, yeah,” said Magnus again, drooling and he then focused really hard. “Right,” said Magnus and crawled closer to Alec and kissed him softly, Alec quickly deepening their kiss and Magnus smiled into the kiss. Alec’s kisses were a lot more confident and aggressive - just like he liked it. He was slowly melting against Alexander’s body, gasping softly as they kissed and he chuckled as he pulled away. “We’re not going all the way - yet,” he said and Alec pouted.

“Why not?”

“Working our way up, remember?”

“True,” said Alec and then sighed softly. “I really  _ do  _ have to work quite a lot up. I mean to take all of you in me, I need to train,” he said, now joking of course, but it got Magnus laughing. Alec was joking, but also kind of meant it; Magnus’ size was no joke and he just shivered as he glanced down. “Okay, so what do I-”

“Just lay down on your back and bend your knees, hold your legs up. I’ll take care of the rest,” promised Magnus with a wink and then swiftly moved to the side, taking the lube out of the drawer and Alec’s heart jumped in anticipation, his eyes glued on the bottle and the corners of Magnus’ lips turned up and formed a little smile. Oh, Alexander was very focused and he was soon back with his boyfriend, dipping down for another kiss, finishing up with a little kiss upon Alec’s temple. “I’ll go slow and I’ll be gentle,” said Magnus softly. Alec nodded again. “And if there’s something that you don’t like, be sure to tell me, okay?” asked Magnus. Alec smiled.

“Yeah,” whispered Alec and Magnus placed the bottle of lube beside them and he leaned over to Alexander again, kissing him softly, giving him a few kisses onto his lips, kissing his way down Alec’s jaw line, his neck, down to his chest and Alec’s breathing was very fast and uneven by the time that Magnus’ lips and tongue reached his stomach. Alec threw his head over to the side when he felt Magnus’ kisses giving him little teasing licks just below his belly button and he groaned, quickly grabbing onto the sheet. Magnus did say to him to keep his legs up, but the way that his cock was itching for attention was just too much for him to bear.

Just as Alec was about to close up his legs, Alec felt Magnus’ hand from stopping him doing so and he whined softly, cracking his eyes open and he saw Magnus slowly moving down. “Oh, fuck,” whispered Alec when he saw Magnus in between his thighs and the older one snickered. But seeing Magnus down like that was just  _ such a sight.  _ Gosh, he was amazing, Alec’s eyes glazed over with lust and hunger. 

“Such strong thighs,” commented Magnus, pressing in a few very wet kisses into Alec’s inner thighs. Strong thighs, he loved them, holding Alec’s other leg with his hand. Alec didn’t know that he could be so sensitive there, but every move… his legs were shaking, his back arched and he wished Magnus would hurry up. Magnus’ smile widened again; good, Alec was so turned on. He loved that. 

“Hurry up,” whined Alec.

“Getting there, patience,” said Magnus with a wink and Alec shivered when Magnus opened up the bottle of lube, but then he dipped down again and kissed Alec’s thigh again, that time much more closer to his cock. 

“Touch me,” said Alec between his moans. 

“Try to hold out just a bit longer for me, hmm?” asked Magnus and Alec just gave him a faint nod and Magnus smiled. “Good boy,” he said and the praise was just-  _ Oh, Alexander definitely liked being praised.  _ Hot. “Soon, my fingers will be deep in you and I’ll make you scream in pure pleasure,” said Magnus softly, pressing up his fingers gently against Alec’s entrance and Alec mewled.

“ _ Please. _ ”

God, he begged so nicely. Magnus was getting off on all of this alone; knowing that he was taking care of Alec, that he was making him feel good - it was all just so  _ hot.  _ Magnus removed his fingers and coated them generously with lube, Alec’s stomach making a flip, his cock twitching again and Magnus gave him a little nod. “I’ll slowly push a finger in now, will go very slow,” he said and Alec just nodded, pressing his heels into the mattress as he felt Magnus’ finger again pressing up against his entrance, keeping his eyes locked with Magnus.

Magnus paced himself, going very slow, circling the tip of his finger and then he gently started pushing his finger inside of Alec, who cried out in intrusion and he took a deep breath and bit down onto his lip. It was just a finger, it didn’t hurt, but it was still a feeling like back when he tried to explore things on his own. Didn’t quite feel good either. Magnus moaned along with Alexander because he was just so-

“You’re so tight,” blurted out Magnus. What he’d give to sink himself in there and just- “That’s it, you’re doing so well,” whispered Magnus, praising Alec along and Alec was very responsive to the praises, keeping his legs still and he tried to think of things that felt good. Magnus’ kisses, the way that he praised him, the way that he touched him, the way that he loved him. “Speak to me, tell me, how does it feel?” asked Magnus, his breathing ragged, slowly moving and curling his finger inside of Alexander, slowly stretching him out and Alec cracked his eyes open.

“Okay,” said Alec and Magnus gave him a nod. 

To make Alexander feel better and to make him forget about any potential discomfort, Magnus dipped his head down again and licked a thick strip underside of Alec’s cock, grabbing the base of it and then he slowly swallowed him inside of his mouth and Alec’s eyes widened because  _ that felt fucking amazing.  _ Magnus was happy to see that Alec was enjoying himself a little bit more and when he was sure that Alec was ready for more he pulled back, Alec mewling and he felt like he was so freaking close and he shuddered.

“C-can I add another finger?” asked Magnus and Alec was quick to nod.

“Y-yes, ah… it-it started feeling really, really good,” said Alec and Magnus kissed his forehead before he slowly pushed back inside of Alexander, adding another finger that time, slowly and Alec’s eyes widened. Oh, he could feel that so much more! “Oh. Oh, fuck,” groaned Alec. Unlike when he was doing it on his own, it felt really freaking amazing this time and he arched his back again. 

“You’re amazing, Alexander, taking my fingers up so well,” said Magnus softly and Alec was a whimpering and whining mess. Magnus wrapped the fingers of his free hand around Alec’s stiff cock and slowly started jerking him off and Alec felt amazing. Magnus moved his fingers carefully, slowly, curling them inside of Alec, changing up the angle every now and then, stretching him, trying to find-

“Oh, oh God, Magnus, I’m so close,” gasped Alec and Magnus sped up the movement of his hand that was around the other’s cock, pushing his fingers a bit deeper and that was when Alec’s back arched, all of his muscles tensed up, his eyes widened because the place that Magnus’ fingers pressed up against just then…  _ felt out of this world.  _ He came all over Magnus’ hand and his stomach, with a loud yelp of Magnus’ name and Magnus smiled proudly. 

Oh, that was amazing!

Magnus slowly pulled his fingers out, reaching over to get the tissues and he was cleaning Alec up while the other was slowly coming back.  _ That was the best fucking orgasm he had up to date.  _ Alec rolled over onto the side and he blinked a few times. “That… that was my-”

“Yep,” said Magnus.

“Oh my fucking God, that was amazing,” said Alec and couldn’t even imagine how good it was going to feel when Magnus was going to make love to him properly and he slowly sat up, Magnus all smiles because he was glad that Alexander got to experience that. Alec was soon back sitting up and he quickly went closer to Magnus, gently pushed him back so that he was laying on his back and Magnus giggled.

“Alexander?”

“Now it’s my turn to take care of you,” said Alec happily and Magnus hummed in delight. Oh! Oh, he wasn’t going to say no to such an offer at all and he was happily kissing Alexander back as the other was on top of him, slowly kissing down his way and Magnus’ eyes were wide when he saw that Alec was going for a- “I-I’ve never actually given a blowjob, but I promise I’ll try my best,” said Alec and Magnus laughed softly.

“You’re precious, it’s okay, if you don’t want-”

“I want,” said Alec softly and then wrapped his fingers around the base of Magnus’ cock and gave it a few teasing pumps before he dipped his head down and swirled his tongue around the head and smiled when he heard Magnus’ little hiss. “I studied,” he said and Magnus arched a brow.

“Studied the art of blowjobs?” teased Magnus and Alec’s cheeks turned red.

“Shut up, don’t laugh,” said Alec and laughed. “I did my research,” he said and Magnus was about to start laughing again because that was just so… pure and adorable! Alexander researching that?! For him. Adorable! But his gift for speaking left him just a few moments later because as it turned out…  _ Alec really did a lot of research. In depth.  _

Magnus was…  _ holy fucking hell!  _


	24. Chapter 24

Alec was holding in his breath as he scrolled down, squeezing his phone tightly into his hand and he was trying his best not to let the tears fall quite yet. He was reading the very last few pages of the books that were written under Magnus’ pen name Prince of Edom and he was emotional as hell. The book had a happy end, but at the same time, Alec didn’t want it to end. Yet, he needed to know the end. It was a bittersweet feeling, after all those years he finally was going to know how the book ended, but at the same time, he didn’t want it to end and he sniffled. His vision was blurry and he had to take a little break in between, closing his eyes and as he did, hot and big tears rolled down his cheeks, placing his hand upon his cheek and he shuddered.

 _In the book, Prince of Edom was finally reunited with his father, learning the true meaning of the family!_ Alec sobbed softly, but he didn’t dare to continue reading as all that was left was the very last page and Alec shuddered under his breath. The fact that he, Izzy, Jace and Magnus were soon going to be meeting up for dinner didn’t even cross his mind, yet. He finished up with classes earlier that day, so he decided that he was going to finally finish up the last book and he was both excited and sad going into it all. He had a few chapters yet and he decided that it was finally time. He couldn’t keep on stalling it forever and he loved every single word of it all. Every word, every sentence was perfect. Still, he was dreading reaching the end.

Magnus… well, the Prince of Edom, was doing a lot of self-reflecting during the last chapter and he had matured a lot throughout all of the five books. The character development was massive and even though there were still some funny parts, most of it was quite serious. Then maybe it had changed because Alec had matured since he last read the books last. Or maybe it was because it was the very last book of the series. Or it could be all of the above, which was probably the case. Alec huffed under his breath and then he nodded. Okay, he needed to get through the last page. He could do this. He was strong.

“Let’s do this,” said Alec, encouraging himself and he then picked up his phone again, straightening himself as he was laying on his bed, sitting up and he just quickly wiped away the tears and he bit into his lip. His hands were shaking as he was slowly scrolling down the last page, devouring every last word - every word was so much more meaningful and when he realised that there was only the last paragraph left and he sobbed softly.

> _And this is where my story, the story of Prince of Edom ends. I’m much happier now, things are better. Being reconnected with my father, Asmodeus, feels amazing. And being down here in Edom isn’t even all that bad. I didn’t want to become the king, but maybe ruling beside my father isn’t going to be amazing. What I dread, though, is the day that he realises that I’ll be needing a partner - you know how it is. Every king needs his queen… or king! But maybe falling in love isn’t going to be all that bad! For once I’m very excited about what the future is going to bring and if it’s love then… so much better, isn’t it?_

And that was the very last moment, Magnus by his father’s side, wishing to fall in love; it seemed that all of his wishes came true, he was happily in love now. All of that was true, but Alec was still sobbing. He was so happy to find out that all worked out for the best for Magnus all those years back, but also… it was the end. It was the most satisfying end that he could ever wish for, it was amazing. And yet, at the same time, he was devastated. Because it was over. His favourite books have ended and he just didn’t know what to do with his life at this point.

Wishing to read the rest of them for such a long time and now that he actually got to do that, he was… he felt numb. He was still crying and he didn’t know what to do with himself anymore. All just ended and he needed a little while. In a way he felt like he was mourning, but he knew that he could always re-read the books. Also, he was literally dating the Prince of Edom and he could always just… but it was different. Reading the end of the books was just… he didn’t like endings. He hated endings and he just huffed under his breath and he glanced down. Everything was just too much for him at the moment and he decided to re-read the last few paragraphs a few more times and honestly… it wasn’t helping. He just felt even more desperate.

A loud sob escaped past his lips and he didn’t even try to stop crying because he knew that it was pretty much impossible at that point. He didn’t mind crying as he knew that he was going to be a mess anyway, so he just let the tears fall, laying back down and he wrapped an arm around his pillow and he closed his eyes. But it was a happy end, so those tears were happy, yet also sad. Bittersweet. And he just puffed his cheeks.

Alec knew that he needed to pull himself. After all, he was soon going out with Magnus and his brother and sister. He needed to calm down a little bit and his eyes widened when he saw the actual time. They were all going to be meeting up in less than an hour! How was he supposed to calm down in such a short time?! Alec just shook his head and he sniffled softly, trying to stop himself, but it was useless and he just laid there. He needed a bit more time, so he just spent the next fifteen minutes laying there, asking the meaning of life and every now and then crying softly into the pillow. 

It was about twenty minutes later that Jace knocked onto the door and he narrowed his eyes. What was now?! Alec didn’t want to be in the company of anyone at the moment but because he was soon supposed to be going out, he just decided that it was fine anyway and he slowly sat up and puffed his cheeks. He was okay! He quickly wiped away his tears and then nodded. He was okay. “Yeah?” called Alec out, his voice raspy, but he didn’t think too much of it. 

As Alec replied, Jace took that as a sign that he could step inside of the room. Alec had to hand it to him - in the years that they lived together, Jace really learned how to respect Alec’s privacy… to some extent. But he was doing much better and Alec was very proud of that. Also happy because before Jace would just barge in without knocking and anything. “Alec, you gotta help me, man,” said Jace and Alec snorted when he saw that his brother was trying to pick out the right outfit for the dinner. “I don't know which one I should pick,” he said. “The green shirt is my lucky shirt, you know that - I want to make a good impression on Magnus. But at the same time, the blue one is very nice and-” he started, but then he looked up and saw Alec.

Alec was sitting there. On his bed. At first glance Alec appeared fine, but then Jace took a closer look at his brother and he saw that Alec was crying. His eyes were red and puffy, his nose was red and he was just - he didn’t look like he was in a state to leave their apartment. _What in the world happened?_ Alec was in his room for a long time, but he didn’t think of it too much. Alec usually did that when he was busy with reading a book and he would forget about the time, but now he was-

“Dude, what happened?” asked Jace and as soon as Jace asked that, Alec’s eyes welled up. He thought he was fine, but when asked about it, his eyes were filled with tears immediately and he glanced down, his cheeks red as he was kind of embarrassed for crying so much over a book. But Jace didn’t know that he got his hands on the rest of the books, but at the same time, he wasn’t going to lie to him and Alec just sniffled and Jace’s jaw dropped. 

_It’s been years since he had last seen Alec cry!_

Who made him cry? Alec had his phone next to him and he narrowed his eyes. Okay, so he had to be talking with someone on the phone. Who was it? Maybe- Jace took in a deep breath and he then just shook his head. It didn’t matter who it was, he was going to protect his brother no matter what! “Alec, what’s going on? Who made you cry? I will go talk to them myself, it’s-”

“It’s all over,” said Alec, who was now talking about the book and Jace’s eyes widened, taking Alec’s words completely a different way and he narrowed his eyes. It was all over of what? Jace shook his head - he wasn’t going to allow it! Nothing was over, he was going to make sure that Alec was getting an apology, they weren’t going to get away with it! “Jace, it’s-it’s… I don’t know what to make of my life anymore, it’s ended so suddenly and I can’t,” said Alec and sniffled softly.

It hurt seeing Alec sob like this, he never-

“Who… what’s-” he started. What was over? Of his relationship with Magnus? Did they break up? Did Maryse find out about Alec being gay and didn’t take the news okay? There were so many possibilities and Jace was shaking with anger. “Did you and Magnus break up?” he suddenly asked. Alec did tell him that the other day Magnus told him that he _loved_ him - first I love yous were exchanged, but things could always change and Jace was very defensive. 

“What? No-no, he didn’t… I-”

“Oh, thank God,” said Jace and then he shook his head. “Then why? Did Maryse-”

“I finished the books of Prince of Edom,” said Alec and Jace narrowed his eyes. “I-I got my hands on the last two unpublished books,” he said and he hoped that Jace wasn’t going to ask him too many questions about it. Fortunately, he didn’t and Alec sniffled. “And-and I just finished them and it was so beautiful. It’s all I ever wanted, but at the same time I don’t know-know what to do with my life anymore,” he said and Jace shook his head and quickly walked closer to Alec, placing his shirts on top of Alec’s bed and he just felt relieved. But at the same time he knew how much the books meant to Alec!

“Don’t ever scare me like this again!” said Jace loudly and Alec flinched.

“I’m sorry,” he said and Jace shook his head. He wasn’t mad and Alec expected Jace to laugh at him. He wasn’t the one to get why everyone got so upset over books and movies, but he didn’t. Instead, he wrapped his arms around Alec and pulled him into a tight hug as he knew how much the books were important to Alec. Honestly, he did grow up so much, he was a completely different person than he was just a couple of years ago and Alec just wrapped his arms around Jace, returning him the hug.

* * *

“You look nervous,” commented Ragnor as he was watching Magnus get ready for the dinner and Magnus just rolled his eyes and then he shook his head. He wasn’t nervous, per say, but he was just… well, this was an important dinner. He has met Jace before, but it wasn’t like this; they were going to sit down properly for hours and just talk! Get to know each other a little bit better and he has heard so much about Alec’s sister, he couldn’t wait to finally meet her! It was going to be so much fun, but no, he wasn’t nervous. He was just hoping that he was going to make a good impression.

No pressure.

None at all!

Right?

“I’m not nervous, why should I be nervous?” asked Magnus quickly and then he looked over to his friend and Catarina over there at the side just rolled her eyes. Ragnor was just trying to give Magnus a pep talk, but in reality all that he was doing was getting under his skin and she didn’t like it. 

“Ragnor, leave him alone. You’re the reason that he’s getting nervous in the first place,” said Catarina and Magnus quickly nodded. It wasn’t like he was meeting Alec’s parents - he already met Robert, it was kind of brief. And that went well, so why wouldn’t the meeting with Alec’s siblings go well? They knew all about him, he knew all about them and it was all going to be just okay. He and Jace got along just perfectly the other way! But, Cat was right, Ragnor was indeed making him a little bit nervous.

Should he be nervous?

“I didn’t mean it like that,” whined Ragnor and then pouted. “I was just-”

“Shh, don’t speak if you don’t have anything helpful to say,” said Catarina and Ragnor opened his mouth to say something but she quickly shushed him again. She knew Ragnor well enough and in the end, the other one just stopped trying and he rolled his eyes. “Good, like I thought,” said Catarina and Magnus chuckled.

“Ragnor, it’s fine,” said Magnus and then he looked at himself in the mirror. “Well, I suppose it’s good to feel just a little bit nervous, huh? I mean I’m meeting a part of his family, which is a very important step in every relationship. It would be kind of weird if I wasn’t just a tiny little bit nervous,” said Magnus and Ragnor quickly nodded. _Yes, that was what he was aiming at!_

“I suppose that’s true,” mumbled Catarina and Ragnor happily nodded.

“But - nervousness aside - you’ll do amazing,” he said and Magnus gave him a sheepish smile. “Alec’s brother and sister are going to love you,” he then said and Magnus chuckled. It was true, he did have a talent for winning the family over almost every time and he just sighed happily. 

Ah, this was going to be such an amazing dinner!

* * *

Jace, Alec and Izzy arrived at the restaurant first and were now waiting for Magnus to join them in there as well. While they were waiting, Jace and Izzy were trying to get their brother to cheer up. As much as Alec was excited about the dinner and he didn’t want to ruin it with moping around about the books, he still couldn’t really let it go and he sadly sighed, Izzy placing her hand on top of Alec’s back and she gently rubbed his back, trying to get him to snap out of it. He was overthinking it and she just gave him a little wink and Alec gave her a little mleek smile. 

“No need for the long face,” said Izzy and Alec just shrugged. _Of course he was making too big of a deal._ Again, he was dating the Prince of Edom! He knew all of that and yet he was an emotional mess. “You said that it was a happy ending, right?” asked Izzy and Alec gave her a little nod. Unlike Jace, she was very curious to how Alec managed to get his mittens on the books, but for now it didn’t matter. She was going to ask him about it later though! That was for sure! 

“Yeah, the ending was amazing,” said Alec and Jace smiled.

“You see? That is all that matters, right?” asked Jace and Alec looked up at them and then he just nodded softly and puffed his cheeks. Still, he felt like it was a lot and he just tried to suck it up and pretend that it was all okay! But he couldn’t, not when- _Oh, Magnus couldn’t see him like this!_

“I-it’s true, but also,” said Alec and chewed on his lip. “These books were such a big part of my life. It’s why I got into the literature world in the first place. I’m pretty sure I’d never attend this uni if it wasn’t for these books and not only that, but they just helped me so much,” said Alec and then shook his head. “And I know I can re-read them, but still knowing that it has all ended, it’s just a lot. I need time,” he said and glanced down, Izzy looking over at Jace, who shrugged as he didn’t know what to do. Izzy rolled her eyes and then gently rubbed Alec’s back again and then pulled him in for a half hug.

“Hey, it’s okay, it’s okay. You just need time, we get that,” said Izzy and Alec nodded. He didn’t feel like crying anymore, so that was a start… right? Improvement! At least he considered it to be that! 

As Izzy was trying to calm down Alec, Magnus finally walked into the restaurant and he smiled widely when the saw the Lightwood trio and he happily waltzed over to them, but then his smile disappeared when he saw Alec gloomily looking down, Izzy and Jace both working hard to cheer him up and Magnus didn’t stall anymore, he quickly walked over to the three of them, worry written all over his face and Alec quickly glanced up and tried to put on a smile when he saw Magnus coming. He didn’t want him to see him like this!

It didn’t help, not really. Not when Alec’s eyes were puffy - he was crying. That made Magnus even more concerned and he just- “Hello, everyone,” he said quickly and both Izzy and Jace turned over to Magnus, happily greeting him over to their table.

“Hey!”

“Magnus, hi!” happily piped up Izzy and Alec happily smiled.

“Hey,” said Alec and Magnus quickly sat down next to him - the chair next to him was empty and he was happy about that. “You’re finally here, I missed you,” said Alec and Magnus quickly cupped his face, kissing him softly and he shook his head.

“Why the long face, Alexander? What happened?” he asked, his worries growing as Alec looked away, but it was because he was embarrassed and Magnus looked over to Alec’s siblings instead and Izzy took in a deep breath.

“It’s nothing too serious per say,” said Izzy. “Just today he finished reading a book that he was really attached to and he’s just needing some time to process it all. You see, this book-”

“I read the last book,” said Alec quickly and Magnus’ eyes widened. And he was crying because of that?! Oh, no! It was his own fault that his pretty angel was crying! Jace looked at Izzy and then back to the other two - oh, Magnus knew about the Prince as well! Well, it made sense since they were dating and all of that!

“Was it that terrible?” asked Magnus quickly and Alec’s eyes widened.

“No, it was amazing. The-the way that you wrapped it all up,” said Alec and he shook his head. Izzy was listening to all of that and her eyes were growing. “It was amazing. All of it, beautiful. But-but it’s the end. I can’t believe; it's amazing and I’ll miss it so freaking much. These books are amazing and I just need some time to move on, you know? That it finally sinks in that it’s over and-”

“No, don’t be sad, please. I-I’ll write more!” quickly said Magnus because he hated seeing Alec down. “Ten more books of Prince, I can promise. Twenty, just don’t be sad, please,” said Magnus and as he said that, both Izzy and Jace’s jaws dropped. Magnus and Alec didn’t really get it yet what was happening around them, but… yeah. They were lost in their own little world and Alec’s eyes lit up.

“Aw, it’s okay,” said Alec and chuckled softly. “I mean if you want to of course. I’m always game, I fucking love your books so much,” he said and Jace slowly leaned closer to Izzy and tapped her shoulder.

“Iz, I think Magnus is the Prince of Edom,” whispered Jace and Izzy snorted.

“You think?!” asked Izzy and Jace rolled his eyes. “Magnus!” said Izzy and the other glanced over to her. “You’re the Prince of Edom?!” she asked and Alec perked up. Oh, right! “That is… Alec you knew! You… didn’t tell us, why?! You found the Prince of Edom and you didn’t tell us that it’s your boyfriend!” she said, but then her voice trailed off when she realised the next thing. “Holy shit, you’re dating the Prince of Edom!” she said and her voice was now high pitched.

Alec flushed and Magnus gave him a little nod. He didn’t mind if they knew. “I was about to tell you just now, I mean you needed to know how I got to the books anyway, so. Yeah, Magnus is the Prince of Edom,” said Alec and Jace was just looking at the two of them because those were some huge news that they just casually sprinkled on them and Alec wondered - what if they learned that Magnus was M. A. Matthews as well. Was it too much to add that into the mix now?

“I-I,” stammered Jace and then he quickly extended his hand out to Magnus. “It’s an honour!” he said and then he was trying to collect his thoughts. Prince of Edom! “I am in awe, I never… It’s so amazing to meet you. I mean you’re a celebrity,” said Jace and Magnus started laughing. Yeah, but hardly with that pen name!

“Well, I’m not really-”

“Oh, in our household you are, Alec loved your books and he made us all know of you,” said Izzy and Alec flushed. “That’s amazing. I mean how did you manage to meet each other, it’s… are you the writer that Alec has been writing for?” asked Izzy and Alec looked at Magnus, who gave him a little wink and then he nodded himself.

“That’s me,” said Magnus happily. 

“Destiny brought you two together,” said Izzy and she clasped her hands together. Jace was already rolling his eyes because the whole destiny and faith bit - he didn’t really believe in it. But Izzy sure did and she just happily sighed. “That is amazing, Alec, I’m so happy for you!” she said and then she looked to Magnus. “You. It’s just, you’re soulmates,” said Izzy and Magnus giggled.

“That’s what my friend Cat said as well,” said Magnus and winked. 

“That has to be the only explanation. What are the chances of you two finding each other and-and now dating!” she said and Alec grinned. Magnus smiled - oh, he liked Alec’s sister a lot already! Throughout their dinner, Magnus got to know Jace and Izzy a bit better. And seeing them getting all along like that just made Alec’s whole day all better!

The dinner was a big success! 


	25. Chapter 25

“Oh, this is amazing,” said Alec happily as he was turning the book around in his hands; Magnus’ new book - M. A. Matther’s new book - the one that he was helping him type out till the end, was slowly ready to be sold in the bookstores. Magnus has got his hands on the first few copies. Usually the company would send him a couple of them, Magnus liked to keep the very first copy for himself on his shelf where the rest of his works were; he was quite proud of those. Alec was over at his place just when Magnus got the mail and he was beyond excited. It was one to watch the process of it all being done, but it was completely another feeling to see and have the book finally in his hands. It was amazing and he was just sitting there, blinking and he turned it onto the first page.

_It’s You._

Alec smiled and then he chewed on his lip, gently caressing the cover of it and Magnus just gave him a little smile. In total, he received twenty copies - some of them were going to be signed by his personally as he was doing a little give away for his fans over on his Instagram page. It was just a little thing, but his fans were beyond excited. And the rest of them he was going to hand out to his family and friends - like usually. And one of them was of course going to be Alexander’s. He was the one that made the process possible, after all. Well, he was the one that also endangered the process in the first place. Magnus chuckled and looked over to Alec again. 

“Amazing, isn’t it? To finally have it in your hands, to touch it,” he said and Alec quickly nodded. That was very true! Magnus could still remember the feeling of the first book that he published, the Prince of Edom one. He was so proud of it, he was carrying it everywhere with him. It meant so much to him, but it was still always a very special moment when he got the fresh copies of his books. The fresh smell of a book and it being his, of course - ah, it never got old.

“Exactly, I can’t believe it, it’s so pretty,” said Alec and Magnus’ smile was growing. There was a little something that was hiding on the very first page of the book that he didn’t reveal to Alec. He wrote a few words and were dedicated to a very special person - Alec of course. He wondered how his boyfriend was going to react when he would see it and Magnus just took in a deep breath and then he clasped his hands together. Of course Magnus told him that he would be crediting him for transcribing for him, but he didn’t tell him _how_ he was going to do that and he just smiled. 

“Come on then, open it,” said Magnus and winked. Alec narrowed his eyes and then he cleared his throat. Right, he needed to open it up! But he was so mesmerised by the cover and Magnus’ name was written in such pretty letters. They were shining and he was just flipping the back and forth, admiring the shifting colours. _He was very easily entertained._ Magnus chuckled and then he folded his arms on top of his chest.

“Yes!” said Alec quickly and then he finally opened up the book and then smiled because on the very first page, there was just the name of the author and the title, so he flipped again and he looked down onto the page. It was almost blank, but there in the very middle of it, there seemed to be a dedication? Nothing new, almost every book had one or more dedications, but he was still very curious to see what Magnus wrote in there and his heart jumped when he started reading the dedication. 

_To the most adorable and precious book critic out there,_

_Without you, the book wouldn’t have turned out as amazing,_

_You helped me along so much, thank you so much._

_I love you, my adorable typer._

Alec’s jaw dropped right to the floor and he then quickly gazed up at Magnus, who was quietly laughing. That was the reaction that he was expecting and he hoped that it would be like this. He loved making Alexander speechless, it never got old and Alec just took in a deep breath as he was trying to wrap his head around everything. Magnus dedicated the whole book to him?! He did say that he would credit him, but he didn’t expect this. He honestly expected nothing because that was the least he could do for him anyway since he was the reason why Magnus’ wrist got twisted, so he was just in awe. And very much speechless!

“Ah, I do believe you’re speechless,” said Magnus and chuckled softly. “Good, it’s what I was going for. I’m glad I was there to see your reaction,” said Magnus and Alec gazed his head up and he quickly shook his head because this was too much for him! He couldn’t accept such an honour. He wasn’t worth it, at least in his own opinion, he didn’t-

“M-Magnus, I can’t accept this,” said Alec softly and Magnus pouted.

“You don’t like the dedication?” asked Magnus and was only kidding because he knew what Alec meant. But in his opinion, that was the least that he couldn't. It wasn't just about that book, it was so much more. It was Alec that showed him that his writing really mattered and not the genre that he was in for. And that _all_ of his books mattered. He showed him that people loved his writing for real and it was just… it meant so much. So writing that little dedication there was the very least that he could do at that point. Alec helped him so much and he didn’t realise it himself, huh?

“No, no, I didn’t mean,” said Alec. “I-I mean it’s special and I love it. It’s just so… amazing, but I don’t deserve it. I-I mean I didn’t do anything special, I-”

“Well, can’t do much about it now,” said Magnus with a giggle. “The books are printed, the page is there to stay,” he said and waggled his eyebrows. Alec sighed happily and then he chewed on his lip. Of course he loved, such a dedication was amazing and he just looked over to his boyfriend.

“I love it, it-it’s amazing. I love it, truly,” said Alec and Magnus happily winked.

“Of course you do,” said Magnus and chuckled happily. “I’m so glad about how all of it is going,” said Magnus and then hummed happily. Alec nodded as well and then he looked down onto the page again and he read the dedication a few times more and each time that he read it, the more his cheeks were getting red. _An official dedication in his book._ Of course nobody is going to know who it was dedicated to - at least not Magnus’ readers, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that Alec knew who it was for and his heart warmed up and he happily smiled. “Also, it’s amazing how fast the books have been pre-ordered,” he said and Alec looked up to him. “I mean at least online - it’s all sold out, I’m amazed. My readers are amazing,” said Magnus.

Alec smiled - it was true, Magnus had dedicated fans. Well, he didn’t like calling them fans because it made him feel… arrogant? Which was kind of rich coming from Magnus, but at the same time, he got where he was coming from. “Oh, yeah,” said Alec and then smiled. “Your fans are amazing,” said Alec and Magnus hummed. “I’ve heard, yeah, that all has been sold out. I mean the pre-orders online,” said Alec and Magnus perked up. _Oh, was he reading up on him?_

“As I thought - you are following the news about me online!” chirped Magnus happily.

“Of course I do,” said Alec with a wink and then he hummed. “But I’ve also listened to Underhill about it for the entire day how much he was whining about it,” said Alec and Magnus arched his brow - _he did?_ Why was Underhill- “Marcel is devastated,” said Alec and shook his head. _Marcel?_ “I told you how much he likes your books, right?” asked Alec and Magnus quickly nodded.

“Right! You said he’s a big fan of my works?”

“Oh, he’s your number one fan,” said Alec and snickered. “I mean at least of M. A. Matthews, I’m your _biggest_ fan in general,” said Alec quickly as he didn’t want Magnus to get the wrong impression and Magnus’ eyes widened. Alec did mention that he was a fan, but he didn’t know that the was _that_ big of a fan. Really, now? That was kind of funny! How would he react if he would find out about one of his friends actually being his favourite author? “Apparently he was trying to preorder your book, but he missed it, he got there too late and now he’s completely devastated,” said Alec.

Magnus pouted. “Aw, poor thing,” said Magnus. 

“Underhill tried getting the book as well, but he didn’t get much success, so now he’s just sulking and moping around,” said Alec. “I mean he will be able to buy it in the bookshop, he knows that. Still, he said that it ruined his entire month. Usually he’s always able to get it, but this time his Wi-Fi died and it all just… it didn’t work out,” he said and Magnus hummed. _Well, the books really did sell out quite soon online!_

Magnus glanced over to the box of the other copies of the books and then he hummed. _Well._ Marcel was his friend, they really did grow quite a bit closer throughout the last few weeks and it was kind of unfair that Magnus kept hiding this from them. Not only Marcel, but also from Alec’s siblings. He just wasn’t used to telling people who he really was, he much rather saw that they got to know _him_ better. But even then, things changed and he rubbed the back of his neck. Still, thinking about the poor guy not getting his hands on the book - it didn’t seem fair.

“I suppose I can give him a copy early,” said Magnus out loud and Alec perked up.

“Wait, what?”

“Well, I don’t see why not. I mean, the books in the bookshops will be sold around a week later than those that were pre ordered,” said Magnus and then he shrugged. “Besides, Marcel is a friend of ours,” he said and winked. That was true - since they all met in the Hunter’s Moon the other day, they’ve gone out on a few more double dates or they would just casually meet up and just all hang out. It was a lot of fun! And it’s been on Magnus’ mind for a while now, that he should tell them. It felt like lying. He wasn’t technically lying, but since he knew how much Marcel loved his books, it was kind of-

“No, I get that, but how are you going to give it to him? I mean,” said Alec as he liked the idea of it, it was sweet, but at the same time it was kind of… _he wanted to tell Marcel and Underhill - and the others - for the longest time ever, but he was also kind of timid as he didn’t want Magnus to get upset or…_ “He doesn’t know you’re M. A. Matthews and it’ll be kind of difficult to explain it to him how you got the book. I mean-”

“Alexander, I’ll tell him the truth,” said Magnus and Alec looked at him. “Both - him and Underhill. I think it’s fair that they know. I mean it’s been on my mind now for a while. That maybe it’s time for me to start telling others a bit more,” he said and chuckled softly. “I trust both of them and I think they can keep a secret, so what’s the harm?” asked Magnus and Alec shook his head.

“Oh, no harm whatsoever!” said Alec quickly. “Underhill is one of those guys that you can tell anything and they won’t tell it to other people, he can keep a secret, I swear,” said Alec happily and Magnus nodded.

“There - you see.”

“I’ve been so close to telling them before,” said Alec and Magnus looked at him. “Like not on purpose, just I got too excited and I spilled some things, but they didn’t really get too suspicious,” he said and Magnus grinned. “But I didn’t know if it was okay for me to tell anything, so I kept my mouth shut,” he said and Magnus just kissed his cheek because he was truly the best.

It wasn’t like Magnus didn’t mind telling the others - he really didn’t. “You’ve been a good boy then,” said Magnus with a wink and Alec’s cheeks reddened, but he was listening carefully.

“I do think I deserve a reward for that and-” started Alec, but before he could finish, he was already pulled in for a long kiss.

* * *

“Hey, you two,” chirped Magnus happily. He and Alec were meeting up with Underhill and Marcel - it was a couple of days later and they all decided that it was time for them to meet up again. It was always fun to just hang out and chat. Usually, Marcel was the one who was the social butterfly among all four all of them, his bubbly personality always shining through, but this time he was just sitting on the chair, gloomily and he just mumbled a little hello and he then sadly sighed. Underhill clicked with his tongue; Marcel was like this for a few days now, ever since he couldn’t preorder that book.

Of course hanging out with Underhill helped, he was usually very cheerful and he managed to forget about the book when the two of them were hanging out, but even so Underhill managed to see that his boyfriend was still quite sad about it. “It’s been a while, how have the two of you been?” asked Alec happily and Underhill arched a brow - they saw each other at the classes just earlier that day? Still, he just smiled and shrugged,

“All’s good, just like a few hours before, you know,” said Underhill and Magnus looked over to this side and Alec just laughed, trying to make it sound natural, but all that he sounded was nervous and awkward. Magnus was trying to let him know to just act casual about it. Yes, Magnus had the book with him. And yes, he was going to make the big reveal right there, but Alec was just all over the place. Adorable dork, yeah. Magnus grinned fondly and then shook his head.

“There’s nothing but sadness and pain around us,” suddenly said Marcel and sighed in a very over-dramatic manner. “Darkness,” he carried on and Underhill sighed and then wrapped an arm around his boyfriend and tried to cheer him up. “No hope for better days, it’s all just-”

“You’ll get the book, just a week later and all will be okay,” said Underhill and Marcel looked at him, his usually bright green eyes dark and sad.

“I know. And you tried so hard to get it too, Teddy. You’re the best,” said Marcel and Underhill leaned closer to him, kissing his cheek. That seemed to put Marcel in a better mood.. “I’m sorry, I’m ruining our double date,” he then said and then took in a deep breath, putting on a brave face and then he just nodded. As much as it sucked, it wasn’t the end of the world. Of course not! “It’s fine, it’s nothing,” said Marcel in the end and then he looked towards their friends. “So, um, how have the two of you been?” he asked.

“Oh, things have been going well,” said Alec, finally acting casually.

Magnus was watching Marcel and he blinked a few times. Honestly, he has seen his fans in person before. He’d go to the bookshops when the books started selling and it was always fun to see his readers get so excited when they would get their copy of the book. It was adorable and reading their responses online made him so happy and it made him feel motivated to write. Alexander was his first fan that he actually talked to in person - _Alec did take one first from him!_ Magnus chuckled and he then chewed his lip, his cheeks reddening.

How was Marcel going to react when he’d sprinkle in the news about him being _the_ author? Oh, this was kind of exciting, but he paced himself as much as it was exciting really hard from just telling him all about it. So, they ordered food, chatted, ate and had an amazing time. Alec did keep eyeing Magnus every now and then and he was getting more and more impatient about it, but still - this was Magnus’ call to tell and just around the time that they finally got their desserts was when Magnus decided that it was the right time. It was the end of the dinner, finishing it up with a sweet dessert and hopefully something that would make Marcel cheer up. 

“Aw, this was so much fun, sorry about all the pouting at the beginning,” said Marcel and Alc quickly shook his head.

“As a book fan myself I know how it feels when a book gets snatched right in front of your eyes,” said Alec and shook his head. Underhill quickly nodded and Marcel glanced at him. 

“It’s completely fine. Also, I’ll write to the author myself and I will beg him - if I have to - for that book. You know the give away that he’s doing? I’m gonna get that book myself for you,” he said and Marcel just happily tapped the bridge of his nose and he just shook his head and then chewed on his lip.

“Teddy, you’re the best, but it’s okay, truly,” said Marcel. “I’m over it, it’s just a week more. If I waited all this time, I can wait a bit longer,” he said and then leaned against his boyfriend. He was always so caring! Magnus finally took that as the sign and he cleared his throat. Suddenly he felt very awkward and he just grabbed the bag that he brought with him and then he hummed.

“Actually maybe you won’t have to wait as long,” said Magnus and Marcel looked at him.

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

“I-I, um, well,” said Magnus and he was the one getting nervous. _How was he the one getting nervous?!_ Oh, he really wasn’t used to this! “I, I mean we have a surprise for you,” said Magnus and Alec looked at him and nodded happily. 

“Oh, I love surprises!” chirped Marcel. 

“Maybe it’s better if he closes his eyes?” asked Alec and Magnus nodded.

“Yes,” said Magnus and Marcel happily clapped, closing his eyes.

“Hold my hand, Teddy!” said Marcel happily and he was more than happy to hold his hand, happily smiling and he mumbled a _thank you_ to Alec. Whatever it was, he was glad to see his boyfriend so happy. Magnus finally nodded and took the book out of the bag, Underhill’s eyes widening when he saw the cover and Alec placed a finger upon his own lip in order to tell Underhill to stay quiet for now and he just nodded.

_How-how was this possible?_

Magnus placed the book right in front of Marcel and he then nervously nodded and took in a deep breath. Okay, there went… everything, actually! “Okay, you can open them and-”

“Try not to scream,” said Underhill and Alec laughed softly.

_Those two had so much explaining to do!_

Marcel opened his eyes and then looked down onto the table. Suddenly, everything seemed to go quiet for Magnus, who was just nervously sitting there and smiling. Oh, this was exciting, but also kind of- Marcel’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped and he just looked up and down, then over to Underhill and to Alec, back to Magnus and then back to the book. It-it was the book! The book! That wasn’t even released online yet.

Oh!

Oh!!

_Oh mon Dieu!_

“It-it,” he said and then looked back to Magnus, who was now nodding. He was nodding, why? What was going on?! “It’s the book, but how, I mean it’s not out yet. Is this a joke?” he asked and Magnus quickly shook his head. Still not convinced, Marcel opened up the book and then slowly skipped through the pages and he then dropped the book back onto the table when he realised that it wasn’t a prank and he covered his mouth with his hands and he was shaking. 

Underhill quickly wrapped his arm around the other as he was just shaking all over and was staring at the book. “You guys, how did you even manage to get this?” asked Underhill and then he looked at Alec. Well, he was working for a writer, but he never told him _which_ writer and his jaw dropped. Could that be him - M. A. Matthews?! And then the other day when he told him about Marcel being down for not being able to get the book, he wrote to the writer and asked him for a copy?!

Underhill was-

“You were working for him?!” shrieked Underhill and Alec slowly nodded.

“Yeah, kind of,” said Alec and Underhill then looked to Marcel, who was just trying to come back to his senses. Oh, just so you wait till he learned the whole truth! 

“You’ve met him?!” asked Marcel. “Oh-oh, you actually sat there-there and… like breathed the same air as him, you-you know you were in the same room, like how-how,” he said and Magnus started laughing loudly. _This was-_ “How does it feel to be in his presence?” he asked, literally buzzing all over and Magnus finally stepped in.

“I don’t know, you tell me?” he asked and Marcel narrowed his eyes.

“I- what? I don’t, I’m sorry now I’m a mess and I don’t-”

“You know,” said Magnus. “Hanging out with me?” he asked and then made another pause. “The author,” he then finally said.

Marcel was processing. 

Loading up. 

Marcel.exe stopped working.

Underhill, on the other hand was just- It all made sense though! When did Alec meet Magnus? If he was with the writer all the time, he wouldn’t have much time to find someone to date. Not to mention, back way when, he did mention about hanging out with Magnus a lot of the time. So this was him, M. A. Matthews?! Magnus Bane was- Underhill dropped the spoon and it finally all clicked then. 

“Oh, my fucking God, you’re M. A. Matthews,” said Underhill very quietly and Magnus appreciated that. They were still in a very public setting. “Pardon my French,” he quickly said and then he shook his head. “How- you didn’t tell me, dude!” said Underhill and Alec rubbed the back of his neck.

“Well, it’s not my place to tell,” said Alec. “He still wants his identity to stay hidden,” said Alec quickly. “So please don’t tell anyone, okay?” he asked and Underhill just nodded. Magnus then looked to Marcel, who was sitting there. They made his entire mouth.

_Fuck, they made his entire year and all of the-_

“Teddy, this-this is real, right?” asked Marcel and Underhill chuckled.

“Yeah,” he said.

“Magnus is him and he’s him and they’re the same person. I mean, he’s him and he’s also him and… I need to just- Oh my God, I love your works,” he said and his voice was getting high pitched. He did catch the bit of Magnus wanting to stay anonymous under the pen name and he didn’t plan on telling others.

Of course not - he’d never betray his favourite author! “So, I’ve heard. Alec has heard it from Theo that you’ve been devastated about not being able to get the book, so I thought to just bring it down myself and finally tell you the truth. I’ve been thinking about it for a while now and it’s finally happened,” said Magnus and Marcel looked at Underhill.

“Teddy, you’re the best,” shrieked Marcel and gave his boyfriend a long kiss. “You made this happen!”

“I really didn’t, I mean didn’t do-”

“You told Alec, you made this… you got me to get the book early after all, I love you so much, you’re the best boyfriend ever,” he carried on his ramble as he was still a mess. “And-and I got to meet my favourite writer, which happens to also be my friend,” said Marcel and then he needed to brace himself. “I’m friends with M. A. Matthews,” he said and covered his mouth. “I am friends with- I can’t. I literally can’t, I-”

“How about we order something stronger to drink?” said Magnus and the other two laughed. 

_Yeah that was a good idea._

But Marcel didn’t calm down for a very long time. How could he? He met his favourite author, discovered that they were friends, he got the book early and _it was all thanks to Underhill._ At least in his own opinion.

He. Was. Blessed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can somebody please make Marcel real? I mean I literally can't he is too adorable  
> My son  
> Owns my heart  
> 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰


	26. Chapter 26

Alec was gripping onto Magnus’ hand both out of excitement and because he was too nervous to handle it all. The two of them were visiting Asmodeus’ apartment - Magnus’ father had invited both of them over for dinner as he wanted to finally meet his son’s special someone. Magnus did mention him quite a few times and he decided that it was finally time for him to meet Alexander Gideon Lightwood in person. He and Magnus were still quite close at the end of it all; there were a few bumps along the way as Magnus was quite an opinionated teenager, but he has matured since then, Asmodeus has also learned that he should take things now a notch or two every now and then and their relationship was back to normal. Which Magnus was really happy about. 

A reason for the dinner was to meet Alec, yes, but another reason was of course to congratulate his son on finishing up another book. Kind of celebration; of course. Asmodeus was of course aware of both of Magnus’ pen names that he used for writing and publishing his books. He was aware of the Prince of Edom books and as much as he didn’t like how Magnus portrayed him in them - the overbearing, no privacy, overprotective father - he loved the books very much. Magnus had shown his interest in writing ever since he was a little boy and Asmodeus was always proud of that. So, yes, he tended to get a little bit over-protective, but it was all coming from a good place.

And it broke the man’s heart to see that the other’s didn’t seem to appreciate Magnus’ talents and the first books that he published because even if he didn’t like how Magnus portrayed him in the books it broke his heart to see Magnus’ hard work and talent to go completely unnoticed. Not to mention that the publishing house that he was publishing under the previous time around treated him like shit. To put it mildly, so he was more than happy when he decided to switch things up and was now more than a successful writer. He was just so proud of his son.

Magnus had quite a few ups and downs, but he seemed to be finally in an amazing place, stable relationship, amazing job and he was just happy. So, he was more than happy when Magnus asked if he would be willing to meet Alec. Asmodeus was of course more than interested and willing, happy to finally meet this gentleman that Magnus was swooning over so much every time that they met. A little dinner over at his place seemed like an amazing plan, but Magnus just told him not to get overboard with things. Asmodeus did have a flair to go all out, but how could he not? He was about to meet someone very important in his son’s life and it was just-

Magnus gave Alec a little smile and he felt Alec’s hand squeezing onto his. Alexander was nervous, he could feel it and he gave him a little pout. There was no need to be so nervous about it, he was just going to be meeting his father. But when he thought about it another time, Alec did read all of the books and he knew some things about his father - he was quite protective of him and he just sighed under his breath and pulled Alec a bit closer. “No need to be nervous, my father is going to love you,” said Magnus and winked. Alec huffed under his breath and he laughed nervously.

“I hope,” he then said and looked towards the door. They have just gotten out of the elevator and made the walk down the hallway, turned right and were now standing in front of the door - the door where  _ Asmodeus  _ lived. Oh, Alec was such a big fan, yet he was so scared. These two polarising feelings were clashing and he didn’t know how to react. But what he knew, though, was that he needed to just calm down and take things slowly. He needed to make Asmodeus see that he wasn’t creepy. He was a fan, yes, but he was still-

“Should I just knock? I’m sure that Papa is already waiting for the two of us anyway,” said Magnus and Alec quickly nodded.  _ Right, Asmodeus didn’t like to be kept waiting.  _ There was one time that someone left him waiting five minutes - five minutes it was all that it took and Asmodeus turned them into a mouse for the whole day. Only five minutes, imagine what would happen to you if you were late more than just that? Alec gulped and Magnus laughed softly. 

“Right! Knock! Your dad doesn’t like to be kept waiting,” mumbled Alec. “And-and I don’t want him to turn me into a mouse, so let’s just get this over with,” he said and cleared his throat. Magnus started laughing on top of his lungs because Alec was adorable. Oh, that adorable dork was almost too much for him and he just chewed his lip and shook his head.  _ Right, he did write about that - but Alec did know that it was all fantasy right?  _ Of course he did, but at the same time, Alec was just-

“You’re adorable,” said Magnus and Alec nervously smiled.

“What happened to the guy in real life?” asked Alec and Magnus was snickering.

“Ah,” said Magnus and then chuckled softly. He knew what Alec was talking about, but in real life it wasn’t as exciting or dramatic as he made it sound in the story. “That was about the meeting that he had with a client of his,” he said and then he hummed. “At the end of the day, he just decided to not work with him anymore, that’s all,” he said and Alec’s eyes widened. Oh, that was also scary -  _ to cancel business plans with someone over being just five minutes late.  _

Alec gulped. That wasn’t good news at all.

“I don’t want him to cancel me,” said Alec quickly and then just pressed the doorbell as the idea of Asmodeus cancelling him personally didn’t sit well with him at all. Now, Magnus was sure that Alec was being over-dramatic, but in the end he just smiled and took in a deep breath and he sighed under his breath. Magnus could hear the steps coming closer to the front door and he was just hoping that Asmodeus didn’t put too much effort into this dinner. While it was true that this was celebration of his new book and meeting of Alec - which was big, he didn’t want to think that the dinner wasn’t important - but he just wanted to have a normal, laid back dinner with his father and his boyfriend.

But knowing Asmodeus and his flair for dramatics, he knew that it wasn’t going to be anything like this. Asmodeus was going to make a big deal out of this dinner, wasn’t he? He probably had some fancy food already ready and he didn’t even want to imagine what kind of decore he decided to put out this time!

* * *

  
Alec was just standing in place, appearing completely frozen as he was watching Asmodeus. He and Magnus have just stepped inside of the apartment and he was just looking at Magnus’ father - the two of them looked a lot alike. But instead of broad shoulders, Asmodeus was slimmer, but he was as tall as Magnus and Alec was trying to say something to say, but nothing intelligent came to his mind, so he just decided to keep his mouth shut. For now. The man only appeared to be taller as he was wearing dark clothes and his style of clothing seemed very similar to Magnus’.

Kind of retro, but also very fashionable. Alec knew that not many people would be able to pull the look off, but the Banes were professionals at it and Alec was just taking everything in. His hair was longer and Alec blinked a few times -  _ this was just how he imagined Asmodeus to look when he was reading the book!  _ To Alec was so bizarre because the man was Asmodeus from the books; he could envision him while he was reading and this was how he pictured him to look in his mind as well. It was so odd and yet such a cool feeling. Alec cleared his throat as he was trying to tune back in, but it was kind of hard.

While Alec was trying to come back, Magnus decided to go over to his dad and give him a hug; it’s been awhile since they saw each other in person. They’ve chatted a lot over the phone, but in real life they didn’t see each other for a bit now, so a hug was more than welcoming and the man happily smiled and hugged his boy back. As he was hugging Magnus, he glanced over to the other young man, who was just standing by the door and he didn’t seem to know what to do.  _ He seemed scared?  _ Oh, Asmodeus grinned and he then just pulled back from the hug.

He loved making people afraid, it was a special hobby of his. He reckoned that Magnus told him about his name, huh? Oh, it was always so much fun when he watched people squirm as they would learn his name. Most of them, at least, knew that Asmodeus was a name of a demon and he loved his name very much. “Magnus, my boy,” said Asmodeus happily in his usual fatherly tone and Magnus just smiled and chewed on his lip.

“Hi, Papa,” said Magnus and then sighed happily. “We’re finally here and thank you so much for inviting us over,” he said and Asmodeus happily clasped his hands. 

“Of course, how could I not? This is a special evening after all,” said Asmodeus and Magnus felt his cheeks heating up. “We need to celebrate, my boy released another successful book. I saw the news - all of the pre orders have been sold out within the first hour of it being on sale, it’s a new record,” said Asmodeus happily and Magnus just laughed and smiled shyly. “And I also get to meet the special man in your life, it's a very important evening after all,” said Asmodeus and Magnus sighed happily, but then he gave his dad a serious look.

“I-I mean, yes,” he said and Alec’s heart melted - Magnus was stuttering and it was adorable. “But I do hope that you didn’t go through too much trouble with the dinner and decor. We both know how you get, right?” he asked and Alec was laughing in the back because he could remember about one of the scenes in which Prince of Edom described how extra a dinner was when Magnus - the Prince - graduated school. But, it was also adorable - at least in Alec’s opinion.

“Well, yes,” said Asmodeus in the end and he placed a hand on top of Magnus’ shoulder. “Don’t you worry, son, it’s nothing special. Just a seven course meal, not much and-” he started, but then he saw the look on Magnus’ face and he started laughing.  _ Seven course meal?! That was nothing special to him?!  _ Magnus’ head was spinning, he didn’t want to scare Alec off and- “I’m kidding,” he said in the end and Magnus sighed in relief and Alec was again snickering in the back. “I prepared pizza,” he then said and Magnus’ eyes lit up. “Laid back enough?” he asked as he wasn’t quite sure. Asmodeus wasn’t used to being  _ laid _ back and all of that, but he was learning and Magnus just nodded.

“It’s perfect,” said Magnus in the end and Asmodeus beamed and then looked over to Alec, who was sweating when he felt those eyes on him. “Right,” said Magnus and then clasped his hands together. “I think it’s time you two finally get officially introduced,” said Magnus in the end and Alec took a deep breath.  _ Yes, okay, he was so ready.  _ Alec was buzzing with excitement and he took in a deep breath, trying to wipe the sweat from his palms against his jeans as Asmodeus stepped closer. “Dad, this is Alexander,” said Magnus and Alec shyly smiled. “Alexander, this is my dad - Asmodeus,” said Magnus in the end and Asmodeus narrowed his eyes, trying to see if he get any kind of reaction when he heard his name, but Alec didn’t flinch. At all.

Hmm. Kind of strange, but then again, Magnus had probably told him about his name. Still, kind of a pity, it was always a joy to see- “Nice to meet you,” finally said Asmodeus and made a step closer. Alec finally snapped back to reality and he just gave the other a little smile and he stepped closer to Asmodeus and then took the hand when it was offered to him, shaking it and Asmodeus was surprised. “Oh, quite the strong grip. I like that,” said Asmodeus and Alec just nervously laughed.

“I’m a big fan,” said Alec in the end.  _ Fuck, he didn’t mean to say it out loud.  _ As much as he didn’t want his fanboy to jump out, it did and when he said that Magnus started laughing silently. Asmodeus was very confused because he didn’t quite get it. The boy was a fan of his? How?! Asmodeus looked over to his son, who was just laughing and he didn’t appreciate it. He hated not knowing what was going around him and he just slowly withdrew his hand and he narrowed his eyes.

“A fan of who?” asked Asmodeus carefully.

“You!” piped up Alec and then he just bit his tongue. Right, he needed to stop talking, but when he was nervous like this it was hard for him to stop talking and he just kept on going. “I mean to finally meet you in person. I spent years reading about you,” he said and when he was about to call Asmodeus  _ your royal highness, _ he finally managed to get himself under control just a little bit and Magnus’ laughter was growing louder when he saw the look on his dad’s face - he didn’t get what was happening at all!

“I’m not sure I’m following,” said Asmodeus and he then clasped his hands together. 

“Yes-yes, the book,” said Alec. “I was a fan of Magnus’ when he was writing under the other pen name - the Prince of Edom,” said Alec and Asmodeus’ jaw dropped.  _ Magnus did tell him that Alec was a fan of his older books as well, but at the time he didn’t connect it with what Alec was talking about.  _ As soon as Alec said that it all clicked and Asmodeus immediately looked over to Magnus, who tried to stop laughing, but this was just too much - the look on Asmodeus’ face was too funny. 

Asmodeus was trying to scare Alec a little bit, but his presence has made a completely different effect on Alec, who was now just happily looking at him, those were definitely eyes of a fanboy and he just chewed on his lip. “Ah, yes,” said Asmodeus and then he hummed. “I don’t appreciate the things that were written in there about me. I mean so many things that don’t add up. The man that is described in there is totally not me,” said Asmodeus. “I suppose I do have flair for dramatics a little bit, but I’m nothing like that,” said Asmodeus and then he crossed his arms on top of his chest.

“So you’re not a kind hearted father, who loves his son very much and would do everything to protect him from harm’s way and would literally do anything for him?” asked Alec quickly and Asmodeus blinked a few times. He glanced towards Magnus, who was now shaking his head.  _ No, he didn’t-  _ Alec wasn’t supposed to- Magnus just wanted to say something else, but Asmodeus was already in his element and he stepped closer to Alec and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

He liked this boy already! 

“Yes, totally, that is totally me,” said Asmdoeus happily and Alec snickered a little bit and Magnus narrowed his eyes.  _ He totally knew what he was doing, wasn’t he?  _ Alec didn’t really know what he was doing, but he was trying to make Asmodeus like him a little bit more and it was working - so far.

_ Magnus was trying to prove to his father that he was too scary, but Alec wasn’t helping at all! _ And Alec was on his side - what the hell? Pouting, Magnus stepped closer and he rolled his eyes. 

“Finally someone appreciates me,” said Asmodeus in his usual dramatic tone and Alec was laughing silently because he could have sworn that this was exactly how he pictured the King of Edom to sound in the book and he was just trying his best not to laugh. Okay, good, this was going amazing. He wasn’t afraid of Magnus’ dad anymore though his aura was still very intense - yeah, kind of scary. Dressed all black like this; Magnus wasn’t joking when he told him that Asmodeus was indulging too much in his  _ demon  _ persona

“Alexander, can you just-”

Magnus tried to pull Alec over to the side and tell him that it was okay - he didn’t need to please his father like this, but Asmodeus was already dragging his boyfriend into the living room and all that Alec could do was follow the older Bane and just laugh.  _ Asmodeus was exactly how Magnus described him in his book! _

* * *

“I hope that this humble pizza is up to your taste, Alexander Gideon,” said Asmodeus and Alec snorted at the nickname. Oh, it was too formal, he should be just calling him Alec. It would make him more comfortable, but the way that he was speaking and expressing himself - he was so animated, just like in the book. Oh, Magnus did an amazing job with capturing his father’s whole essence and he was just trying his best not to stare too much. 

“Just Alec is fine,” said Alec sheepishly. 

“Hmm,” said Asmodeus and then glanced over to Magnus and pouted. “Has such a royal name - Alexander - and he shortens it,” said Asmodeus and shook his head. “Pity. But I will do as you say,” said Asmodeus and Magnus grinned.

“I’m allowed to call him Alexander,” said Magnus and waggled his eyebrows. He was very proud of it; Alec didn’t like it when others called him by his full name, but loved it when Mangus himself did it and he was quite proud of that fact. 

“Of course, you’re special,” mumbled Alec and a little flush spread across his cheeks. Asmodeus smiled when he watched them and then he sighed again because the attention wasn’t on him. Magnus rolled his eyes in a fond way and he then sighed under his breath and placed his arms on top of his chest.

“Yes, father?”

“Nobody’s praising the pizza, I’m beginning to worry,” said Asmodeus and Alec tried his best not to laugh when he saw the look on Magnus’ face. “You know, I had never made pizza before, so I didn’t know what I was doing. You see, Alec, I was actually trying to prepare something more fancy,” he said and then carried on by listing name of dishes that he was trying to prepare for the evening, Alec just listening, nodding and pretending that he knew what Asmodeus was talking about.

When in doubt - just nod away. That was Alec’s principle and it seemed to work, Magnus just pursing his lips and he was laughing silently when he watched Alec trying his best to follow his father. Magnus himself didn’t know half of the dishes that his father was talking about and he laughed silently. “Oh, you’re very intune with the culinary world suddenly, Alexander?” asked Magnus and Alec looked at him.

“I, um, I dabble,” said Alec and Magnus bit his lip.

Don’t laugh, don’t-

“Good-looking, smart  _ and _ knows how to cook,” said Asmodeus and hummed happily. Alec laughed and just tried to go along with it. “I must say I approve of him so far,” said Asmodeus bluntly and Alec flinched.  _ Oh, he was testing him, huh?  _ Well, he kind of expected it and he just gave him a little smile. That was god. Yay! He then looked at Magnus who was just grinning and he took Alec’s hand into his and kissed his cheek softly. Alec looked like he needed a kiss. 

“That’s, um, good to know,” said Alec and Magnus winked.

“Told you he’s gonna love you,” said Magnus and Alec nodded slowly. “Now let’s just dig in, I’m starving,” said Magnus and Alec had to agree. He was finally relaxed all the way; this was way easier than he anticipated. 

Also Asmodeus was just so cool in his eyes!


	27. Chapter 27

A bright smile was on Alec’s face as he was helping Max with his homework, smiling and he then sighed as he looked over to the clock. Maryse and Robert were still over at work, Alec was done early for the day with his classes, so he decided that he should pick up Max from school and because of that they were now in their kitchen, over at his parents’ house and he was helping Max with his homework. Even though Max was still a kid, he was always very well organised, so the first thing that he liked doing after he came home back from school was do his homework. In his opinion it was the best way - the sooner that he was done with homework, the more time he had for other things that he liked doing in his spare time. And honestly Alec had to agree that that was pretty smart.

“How are you doing, Maxie?” asked Alec and the boy looked over to his big brother and hummed.

“Well, it’s Math and it’s going on pretty good, yes,” said Max and Alec chuckled. True, his brother was very good when it came to Math. Alec was decent when it came to it, so he was very in awe when he’d see his brother win so many different awards at school in the Math field. And it was something that the boy was very proud of, happily smiling as he went back to solving his homework.

“Very true, I’ve never been  _ that _ good at it,” said Alec and chuckled. One of the many reasons why he was now studying Literature and not something among the Math field. Max chuckled and then he just sighed, looking over to the pile of textbooks and he shook his head. As much as he liked reading and all of that, he wasn’t all that good when it came to English and he huffed under his breath.

“You’ll help me with English grammar?” asked Max with a little voice and Alec was more than happy to nod in agreement. Max happily smiled and he then went back to his homework, looking quite pleased with himself. As Max didn’t need too much help with the homework - yet - Alec decided that maybe he could try preparing a little snack for himself and his little brother in the meantime. Max did have lunch in school, but Alec himself was pretty hungry, so he just stood up and waltzed over to the fridge.

“I hope mom and dad have something in the fridge,” said Alec happily and Max chuckled.

“They left me lasagna from yesterday, mom told me to just heat it up in the microwave,” said Max and shrugged. “You can have it,” he then said and Alec smiled. Oh, that was very generous and he loved their mom’s lasagna, but it was for Max and not him, so he just decided to have a bit of cereal himself - Max just happened to like the same ones than him and because Alec didn’t have that in  _ years _ almost, he felt his craving coming up and he happily rubbed his palms together.

“I’ll have some cereal,” said Alec happily.

“There’s perfectly nutritious lasagna in there and you go for cereal?” asked Max and Alec looked over to his brother and he then snorted. Since when was Max concerned about eating healthy and having nutritious food? Since when did he know the word  _ nutritious?  _ Had to be something that he learned in school recently and he just waved it off. “Do you know how much-”

“Shh, let me enjoy my nostalgia, I didn’t have these in years,” whined Alec and Max just giggled.

“Just make sure you brush your teeth after, this has so much sugar in it,” said Max, now sounding like Maryse and Alec narrowed his eyes, placed his arms on top of his sides and he just shook his head.

“Now you sound just like mom,” teased Alec and Max just giggled, but then he just went back to doing his homework. In the meantime, Alec was preparing a feast for himself; oh, this was going to be amazing, happily humming along and Max was just laughing when he would look up every now and then to see what his brother was up to; Alec was still so childish at times, but he liked it. He liked that even if his brother was so much older from him that he could still just lay back and was just… a kid, in a way.

Unleashing his inner child, that was what Alec was doing. At least that was what he claimed to do a lot of times and he just laughed again, shaking his head and Alec just stuck his tongue out. “Oh, what are you laughing at? Don’t spoil my fun, I’m hungry. I didn’t have anything since breakfast,” he said and then shook his head. He had to skip lunch with Underhill as he was in a hurry to pick Max up and the boy just shrugged it off.

“Did I say something?” asked Max and Alec just shook his head.

“I supposed not,” said Alec and then started happily eating his favourite cereal, humming along and then his eyes narrowed a little bit. It’s been a little while since he and Max were alone like this; this was a good chance for the two of them to just sit back and catch up on things. “So,” said Alec and Max slowly looked up at him. “What’s up? I mean, how’s school and stuff?” he asked and Max rolled his eyes. Alec cocked his head to the side - what did he do now?

“Not you too,” whined Max and Alec rubbed the back of his neck.

“What did I do?” asked Alec and laughed when he saw how annoyed his brother looked.

“Will you also ask me how school is and then proceed by asking me if I happen to have a girl that I like?” he asked and Alec blinked a few times. He didn’t quite - that wasn’t at all what he was aiming at, but then he realised that Max was hanging out with Izzy the other day and that was something that she would ask him for sure. Alec laughed and then he quickly shook his head.

“You’ve been hanging out with Iz, I see,” said Alec and Max nodded.

“Yes,” said Max and gritted his teeth. “All she thinks about is dating,” he then said and sighed sadly. Alec laughed and then he shook his head; that wasn’t it, of course not. Max was kind of over-exaggerating things, but Izzy just wanted to be involved. There were times when that came off as really nosy, but she wasn’t coming from a bad place and that was something that Max also got, but he still didn’t like it.  _ Then again he was still at age when he didn’t really-  _ Alec chuckled and then he just shook his head.

“Izzy is just curious,” said Alec and Max nodded.

“Too curious,” corrected him Max and shook his head. “I mean I have friends that are girls and friends that are boys. I don’t know why it has to matter,” he then said and Alec just chuckled. “School’s fine,” said Max then when he realised that Alec wasn’t going to start asking annoying questions and Alec happily beamed. That was good to hear, unlike him, Max had good experience in school!

“Great!” said Alec and then happily smiled. 

_ Speaking of dating - he still didn’t tell Max that he had a boyfriend.  _ Max and Maryse were the only ones that still didn’t know, but Alec was feeling ready to tell them. Max was old enough to understand and he felt more comfortable telling him. As he was a kid, he was sure that Max wasn’t even going to care anyway all that much. But then again he also knew that Maryse wasn’t going to make too much of a big deal. Still, there just wasn’t any good opportunity for him to come out to his mom and he just sighed.

There weren’t opportunities or he didn’t want to take one? Well, he was getting there. He was thankful to his father for keeping the secret, he was very supportive through it all and that meant a lot to Alec. He was just… well, maybe he could tell Max, now? Alec bit his lip and then he took in a deep breath. 

“I’ve also been up to very interesting and exciting things,” said Alec suddenly and Max looked up to him. Oh, he was interested in that! Alec was always out and about, he was sure to run into some interesting and fun stories. “You know the writer I was working for?” asked Alec and Max looked up to him and then he nodded. Right, that was very exciting and he still didn’t know who it was! But then again, it was romance novels and he wasn’t really particularly interested in those anyway!

“Oh, yes, how’s all of that working out for you?”

“Well, we’ve finished the book,” said Alec and smiled. “I mean it’s really so cool to finally see the book all printed out, you know?” he asked and Max happily nodded. “It’s quite… yes, I’m very proud of it. I mean I know I didn’t write it, I was just there to help the process along, but still, it’s a very cool feeling,” said Alec and Max just gave him another nod.

“You still didn’t tell me who the writer is,” whined Max and Alec chuckled.

“You wouldn’t know who it is anyway,” said Alec and Max pouted, but then he decided not to ask too much. “Also,” said Alec and Max looked at him. “I mean it’s quite big news,” he said and Max just nodded and was now patiently waiting for Alec to say something. “It’s just - you can’t tell mom yet, okay?” he asked and Max’s eyes lit up. It was a secret - was Alec in trouble? But Alec never got in trouble!

“Are you in trouble?” asked Max and Alec chuckled.

“Not really,” said Alec and Max sighed in relief.

“Oh, that’s good,” said Max.

“Well,” said Alec and then he just smiled and decided to tell Max anyway. “Promise you won’t tell mom?” he asked and Max nodded. “Good,” he said and then made another little pause. “I also… I mean - I have a boyfriend,” said Alec in the end and he looked over to Max, who rolled his eyes, whined and shook his head.

“You see, you also wanna talk about dating stuff,” said Max and Alec chuckled.

“No, no, I just-”

“I don’t wanna talk about it,” continued Max with whining.

“No, I don’t… I won’t ask you about it. I get it, I know how annoying it is,” said Alec and then smiled, shaking his head. “You heard what I said, right? That I have a boyfriend and not a girlfriend?” asked Alec and his voice got a bit more quiet and Max nodded. Yes, yes he did. He didn’t know what to exactly do with that piece of information. His brother was dating? He didn’t get what the big deal was about it?

“Yes?” asked Max carefully. “Izzy has a boyfriend too,” he said, shrugging. “Jace has a girlfriend, big deal,” he said and Alec snorted. Really? “Why can’t I tell mom?” he then asked and Alec took a deep breath. 

“Well,” said Alec and then chewed on his lip. It made him happy that Max didn’t see anything wrong with him dating a guy. “You know as I’m a guy and I’m dating another guy,” said Alec, trying to kind of hint on it and Max perked up.

“Oh, yes,” said Max. “One of my classmates has two dads. She’s cool,” said Max, shrugged it off and then went back to his homework. It made Alec smile even more because Max truly was the best and he just chuckled and then ruffled Max’s hair, who whined again and Alec just laughed. He knew how much Max disliked that, but he was just so happy that Max was just so… chill about it all. 

* * *

Magnus smiled and then he sighed happily, looking towards the screen of his computer and he smiled, chewing on his lip. He was getting more writing done, but it was a lot harder than the other times. He wanted to write something that was more personal to him, that was  _ him, _ not any of his pen names. No, this was different and that was why he was struggling so much. Not as much as struggling per say as much as it was just… harder. As he wasn’t hiding behind any other names, no. He wanted to do this because it was just… Alexander has changed him so much and he wanted to show to the world who he truly was.

Who M. A. Matthews was.

Who the Prince of Edom was.

That was the plan at least. Magnus huffed and then scrolled all the way up to the top and he chewed on his lip, reading the title again and he huffed under his breath. Magnus bit into his lip and then nodded. He liked it, he liked the title. It was good. Still, it was just - it was slower, much slower than usual, but he didn’t mind it. He didn’t mind it because this was about him, not about anyone else. This was about him to show the others who he truly was. And he wasn’t doing this for his fans, who he knew that would love to get to know him better. But, he was doing this for himself. He knew that he needed to do this. It sounded cheesy, but it felt right.

It’s been on his mind forever - he wanted to show others who he truly was, but he was just afraid. The first time around nobody liked his personal stories, so he got burned and afraid. That was why he swore to himself that he would never try doing this again. That was at least until he met Alexander, who changed that. He made him see that his stories were appreciated, that people loved him, his writing and that was all that he needed. That little push, the little bit of encouragement. 

And that was exactly where Alexander came in.

Magnus huffed under his breath and smiled again as he read the first few lines.

**_Under the Pen of Heart_ **

**_by_ **

**_Magnus Bane_ **

Magnus felt his heart hammering against his ribcage and he smiled. Oh, he just hoped that he would actually publish it under his real name, chewing on his lip. Still, he was proud of it. He was just - he was keeping it a secret from Alexander so far. Yes, he told him that he was writing on something more personal this time, but he didn’t tell what exactly his plans were. A reason for that was because he wanted to surprise Alexander once the work would be done and the other one was that he didn’t want to let him down. He didn’t want to tell him what he was working on and then never finish it. It would add on too much pressure.

Still, he was proud of himself for just this; attempting. It was a huge step for him and he quickly closed the file as there was knocking on the door and he smiled. Alexander was there! Before he actually got out of his office, he opened up his drawer and pulled something out of it, stuffing it into his pocket and he waltzed over to the front door, happily humming as he opened the door, Alec standing there and Magnus happily purred, wrapping his arms around Alec’s neck and he pulled him in.

“Alexander, I missed you,” whined Magnus.

Alec chuckled and then he huffed under his breath. Oh, how much he loved clingy Magnus like this! He was beyond adorable and he just kissed him back, nuzzling his forehead against Magnus’ and the latter just smiled and chuckled. “I missed you too,” he said. “What were you up to?” asked Alec and Magnus gave him a little wink.

“Writing.”

“Oh, the secret project?” asked Alec and Magnus just nodded. “Aw, I wish I can soon read it, I bet it’ll be so amazing,” he said and Magnus just smiled and nodded.

“I hope, yes,” said Magnus and winked. “I’m aiming for success. How was your day?”

“Oh, good, good,” said Alec. “Picked up my brother from school, helped him with his homework and told him about you,” he said and winked. Magnus whistled and then he chuckled. He was impressed; Alexander was truly a lot more confident. “He was completely unbothered,” he said and then grinned. 

“Kids are much better than adults handling these things, yeah,” said Magnus and then he looked around the place, taking Alec’s hand and then he guided him to the couch. Alec happily sat down and Magnus then chewed on his lip, taking something out of his pocket, but he wouldn’t show it to Alec quite yet. 

“What’s that?” asked Alec and Magnus smiled.

“I have a little something for you, actually,” said Magnus and Alec perked up. 

“Oh, what is it?”

Magnus bit his lip and then finally showed what he was hiding there in his palm. He hoped that it wouldn’t freak Alec out too much. Alec narrowed his eyes -  _ a key?  _ He was kind of surprised, but his jaw dropped and he looked over to Magnus. What did that mean?! Alec was shaking and Magnus smiled softly. “I,” said Magnus and then nervously laughed. “It’s my spare key,” he said and Alec was just listening. “I want you to have it. You know, you’re around a lot and it’s just… I don’t know, if you wanna come hang around and I’m not hope or just so I don’t have to come here unlocking all the time, use it then?” he asked and Alec was shaking. 

Alec slowly picked up the key and he spun it around in his hand, biting his lip and he then nodded. It was amazing, he loved it. It was the most amazing key that he has ever seen.  _ He got the spare key of Magnus’ loft, he got-  _ Holy shit! This was huge step, wasn’t it? Alec was pretty sure that it was and he glanced over to Magnus.

“Is it too soon?” asked Magnus, kind of scared that he freaked Alec out. But Alec just shook his head, wrapped his arms around Magnus and kissed his cheek. “I love it, I’ll use it all the time,” said Alec and Magnus just laughed.

“You better,” said Magnus with a wink and pulled Alec in for another kiss. 


	28. Chapter 28

“Another hit, Magnus,” said Ragnor and Magnus gave him a little sheepish smile, but he was very happy about it. The book was doing amazing; pre orders were shipped already of course, the book was already in bookshops and they were selling very well there too. Magnus was seriously so proud of this and he was reading a few reviews online and he could tell that his fans liked the book more than the previous ones. They couldn’t really put their finger on it, but there was something that was different about this book. The feel of it all seemed very different to them, it was like a breath of fresh air and Magnus knew what that breath of fresh air was -  _ Alexander, of course.  _ That and him falling in love; it gave him a new perspective on writing. 

“I know,” said Magnus and then he puffed his cheeks. “Everyone loves it, I’m amazed,” said Magnus and Ragnor gave him a little wink. Of course they did, Magnus’ writing was amazing and he just hummed and then he leaned back in his chair, rubbing the back of his neck and he grinned.

“You’ve been reading the reviews?” asked Ragnor and Magnus looked over to him. Ragnor knew that Magnus was - at least back in the day - obsessed with reading reviews and any review that would express just an ounce of criticism would tear him completely down. He’d take it very personally and he would pick apart every little thing that he wrote; especially when he was still writing under his previous pen name. And there was a long period of time when he was avoiding reading reviews like a plague, but recently he heard Magnus talking about reading reviews and that was a good start - he just hoped that he wasn’t doing too much reading of them.

“Oh, yes, actually I have read a few of them,” said Magnus and smiled when he saw the look on Ragnor’s face. “I didn’t read too many if that’s what you concern. I’ve changed, I just… you know in the past I was very worried how people saw my writing style, but now I don’t really care anymore,” said Magnus and then chewed on his lip. “I realise that not everyone has to like how and what I write about so what’s the point of worrying too much about negative reviews,” said Magnus and shrugged. 

Ragnor gave him a little smile and he placed his hand on top of his chest and shook his head. “Oh, you’ve grown so much,” he said and Magnus rolled his eyes. True, he was older, so that was another reason why he didn’t really care what people thought about his writing, but it was more than that. Maybe it was because of Alexander or he just didn’t have the energy to worry all the time. He had much better things to do in his life, so he didn’t really care about complete strangers online writing mean things about him and he just huffed under his breath.

“Oh, come on, I’m not an old man like you, yet,” teased Magnus and Ragnor gave him an offended look.

“Who’s old?” he asked and then he folded his arms on top of his chest and he shook his head. “But,” said Ragnor after a little while and his facial expression softened up a little bit. “Everyone’s saying how much you’ve updated your writing style this time around,” he said and winked. Magnus flushed a little bit and he just mumbled something under his breath. “And I’ve noticed that too,” he said with a wink and Magnus just narrowed his eyes. Well, duh, of course he did!

“What’s that supposed to mean?” asked Magnus and Ragnor just shrugged.

“It means that you’re inspired,” said Ragnor and Magnus chuckled. “It’s true, your previous works were really, really good, but I could tell that… there was something that was holding you back, you know? But this book is different,” said Ragnor and smiled. “When the characters are falling in love, you can actually feel it and not just read it,” he said and Magnus’ flush just deepened a little bit. 

“Alexander has been a great help, yes,” said Magnus in the end and he puffed his cheeks. “I mean without him, this book would have never gotten written in such a short time and I-I think that with his help I kind of… you know - changed things up just a little bit,” said Magnus and Ragnor gave him a little not because he knew exactly what his friend was talking about. 

“How are things between the two of you anyway?” asked Ragnor, now getting a bit more personal and Magnus smiled.

“Oh, it’s amazing. Like I told you, he met with my father the other day,” said Magnus and Ragnor started laughing. Oh, Magnus told him everything about it - how his father ended up loving Alec in the end. How Alec loved Asmodeus as well; he was a fan of the books after all so to see an actual character from it in person had to be very interesting. And from what Magnus told him, Asmodeus was the one that was afraid of Alec and not the other way around. Well, not quite afraid, but he was just taken back.  _ In a good way though.  _ It was interesting to see that Asmodeus finally found someone that was a match to him and didn’t scare away so easily.

“Oh, yes,” said Ragnor in the end and Magnus chewed on his lip.

“There’s something else,” said Magnus and Ragnor gave him a little smile of encouragement.

“Yes?” asked Ragnor and his curiosity grew.

“Well,” said Magnus and then made a little pause. “I kind of gave Alexander the spare key to my apartment,” said Magnus and then he looked over to Ragnor, who whistled and waggled his eyebrows. Magnus really was serious about this relationship, which made Ragnor happy. He liked Alec a lot, he approved of him - he treated Magnus right. And he was very happy to hear about this; the two of them were slowly building their relationship and they were going stronger and stronger with each passing day.

“Woah, that’s huge,” said Ragnor and Magnus nodded.

“Yeah, it’s kind of a big step in our relationship, but at the end of the day,” said Magnus and shrugged. “He is around a lot and, I don’t know,” he said. “I thought it was a good idea. He loved it as well,” he said and Ragnor gave him a little nod. Well, of coruse Alexander loved it, who wouldn’t. Ragnor wrapped an arm around Magnus’ shoulder and then he pulled him a bit closer, giving him kind of a half-hug and Magnus just laughed and sighed happily. Everything was going amazing - it was kind of hard to believe actually. But he wasn’t going to overthink it, not this time. Nope, he was happy and that was all that mattered. Ragnor nodded and he hummed.

“Will he be moving in soon?” asked Ragnor, who was now just kidding of course. Magnus rolled his eyes and he snorted.

“I mean in the future, it’s a very nice thought for it,” said Magnus and smiled. But then again; Alec was spending a lot of time around as it was, so in many ways he got to see how it would seem when the two of them would be living together and he had to say that he loved it. Having Alexander around all the time was amazing and he huffed under his breath and chewed on his lip.

“Oh, already thinking about the future,” said Ragnor and Magnus flushed again.

“Shut up,” said Magnus and both of them laughed. Biting into his lip, Magnus huffed and the smile was back on his face; it was fun to think about a future like this; with Alexander around. While Magnus was still thinking about all the possible futures that he could have with Alec, Ragnor was back with Magnus and his writing. He knew that his friend was working on something new, but he still wouldn’t tell him what it was. He wouldn’t even give away the title -  _ why?  _ Ragnor whined and Magnus looked back at him. “Yes?”

“How is the new book coming along?” asked Ragnor and Magnus snorted. Ah, yes, Ragnor was asking him a lot about the new book, but Magnus was just keeping silent; he wouldn’t give him too many details and it was getting really on his nerves.  _ Ragnor wasn’t really the patient type when it came to-  _ “I mean can you just give me a title? At least something, I need to know because-”

“No, come on, we’ve talked about this,” said Magnus and Ragnor pouted.

“Fine.”

“But I can tell you that writing is going good,” said Magnus and Ragnor cheered up a little bit. “I don’t know when it’ll be finished. Even if it is, I don’t know how long it’ll take me to show it to others,” said Magnus and Ragnor arched his brow. The more that Magnus told him about the new book, the more he was curious and it really wasn’t fair. “What’s up with that face?” asked Magnus when he saw the look of disappointment on Ragnor’s face and the other just shook his head.

“Nothing, nothing,” said Ragnor. “You’re really good at keeping me on edge about it, do you know that, right?” asked Ragnor and clicked with his tongue.

A cheeky smile tugged at Magnus’ lips and he just shrugged. “I am a best selling author after all, it’s part of my job description,” said Magnus and Ragnor just rolled his eyes, but in the end of it all he just grinned and huffed.

_ Fine, he was just going to have to wait like the rest then!  _

* * *

“Holy shit - he gave you the key to his apartment?!” asked Jace and Alec nodded. Izzy covered her mouth with her hands and she happily squealed. Alec laughed and then he just crossed his arms on top of his chest. He was hanging out with his siblings and he was just telling them the good news - about Magnus giving him the spare key of his apartment. Both of them were beyond happy to hear the good news and Izzy just happily sighed and then shook her head.

“That’s a huge step in your relationship,” said izzy and Alec looked at her.

“Right?” he asked and Jace chuckled.

“Means things are going well between the two of you, huh?” asked Jace and Alec gave him a little nod, the blonde one smiling. “That’s good to hear,” said Jace and Alec then chewed on his lip. However, then Jace’s smile disappeared and he looked over to his brother. “But,” said Jace and then he looked down. “That means that you’re a step closer to moving in with him and when you move out from here, then I’ll be left all alone,” he said and Izzy started laughing, Alec just crossed his arms on top of his chest.

“Did I say anything about moving out?” asked Alec because he knew that Jace loved living with him. Alec liked living together with Jace as well; it was fun after all. There were times when he would get on his nerves, but he was a lot of fun to be around and Alec clicked with his tongue when he saw Jace; he looked like a little wounded puppy and Alec sighed. “I won’t move out yet, come on, Jace,” said Alec and Jace sighed.

“I know, but you will one day and I’ll be all alone,” said Jace and Alec shook his head.

“Then Clary can move in with you,” suggested Alec. “Who knows? Maybe you’ll be the one moving out before me,” said Alec and shrugged. “You don’t know what the future will bring, so for now let’s not focus on that, okay?” asked Alec and looked at Jace, who just nodded. Izzy was smiling as she was watching her brothers; oh, those two couldn’t go a day without each other around. They had an amazing bond and she just grinned.

“Hey, nobody got upset when I announced I was moving out,” said Izzy, who was now just kidding and both of the boys went quiet and she just started laughing. “I’m kidding, come on,” she said in the end and Alec just chuckled and then he looked over to Jace, who was now laughing as well. 

“I suppose we’re the drama queens of the family,” said Jace and Alec hummed.

“That sounds about right,” said Alec and smiled, then going back to thinking. Actually, he had another thing that he wanted to ask his brother and sister. Both of them had much more experience when it came to dating, so he always asked them for advice when he needed one and he hoped that this time they would be able to help him out a little bit as well because he really needed it. ”Since he got the key, he kind of got the urge to get Magnus something back in return, but he had no idea what. That was another reason behind why Izzy came over to their place that day.

“I kind of feel like I have to give him something back in return,” mumbled Alec and Izzy chuckled.

“Oh, I bet that Magnus doesn’t expect anything in return, I mean he’s not materialistic and-” she started, but Alec interrupted her.

“No, I know that. But I still want to give him something, you know?” asked Alec and then shrugged. “I’ve never been really good at buying things, so I haven’t got the slightest idea what to get him,” he said and looked down. Not only was it his first relationship, but he was bad at gifting people in general. He always seemed to buy something wrong or just… he didn’t know. He didn’t have ideas and he huffed under his breath. Izzy for sure was going to know what to get for Magnus!

“Oh, that’s easy,” said Jace and Alec looked over to him and arched his brow. “I mean I don’t know about you, but there was this one time that Clary gave me an amazing surprise,” he said and Alec was carefully listening to him and he nodded again. “She blessed me - she bought these sexy lingerie in which-”

“No, no, no, Jace, stop talking,” said Alec quickly and Jace arched his brow.

“Well, you didn’t let me finish,” said Jace.

“I’m not sure I want to hear the end of your story,” said Alec and shuddered.

“Get him something that will spice things up in the bedroom,” said Jace and then waggled his eyebrows. “I don’t know what you guys are into, but I know loads of sites, I can-”

Alec’s face was red as a tomato and he quickly shook his head. “No, thank you very much. I was-was kind of trying to get him something meaningful and romantic, not a sex toy, thank you very much,” said Alec and Jace rolled his eyes and then he snorted. 

“It can be romantic,” said Jace as he was already entertaining himself with the memory of Clary and him. Alec quickly shook his head and he then looked over to Izzy, who was just laughing, but then she took a deep breath and glanced at Jace again, giving his shoulder a light smack and Jace groaned. 

“Stop with that, that grin is scary,” said Izzy and Alec nodded in agreement. “Don’t listen to him, Alec. Jace is… well, Jace. We know how he is and we love him anyway, but,” said Izzy and Alec snorted when he saw the offended look on Jace’s face. “Magnus seems like the type that enjoys jewelry, right?” asked Izzy and Alec quickly nodded. Yes, that was very right - he could get him something like that! The only problem was that he didn’t know  _ what  _ exactly to get him. 

“That’s actually a good idea,” said Alec.

“Of course it is,” deadpanned Jace and rolled his eyes. 

“What would I get him though?”

“Well, you can always get him a pretty necklace,” said Izzy and then she went on with thinking out loud and her eyes lit up when something else popped into her mind and she tugged on Alec’s sleeve. “I know - what about a ring?” she asked and Alec narrowed his eyes. Magnus had so many of rings already and he rubbed the back of his neck. Alec didn’t know, but a ring was a good idea, maybe? He wanted his to be different, that it would stand out, somehow. Biting into his lip, he hummed and then nodded slowly.

“That is a good idea,” said Alec and then looked at his sister. “But Magnus already has so many rings, do you really think that he needs a new one?”

“Alec,” said Izzy and chuckled. Her brother was still so clueless sometimes! “Of course, there’s never too much when it comes to rings,” said Izzy and Alec nodded. Yeah, okay that sounded reasonable. It was like him and books - there was never too many and he crossed his legs. “Also, this one would be from you, so it would be extra special to Magnus,” said Izzy and Alec flushed a bit.

“That… you have a good point, yes,” said Alec and Izzy smiled.

“It would be… a promise ring,” said izzy and Alec’s flush deepened.

“I don’t know, Iz, isn’t that too serious? I mean I don’t want him to think that I’m actually proposing to him. It’s bad already that I wrote that in my love letter to the Prince of Edom on my blog, so-”

“Well, you can always get him another ring,” piped up Jace and Alec arched his brow. “I mean how about co-”

“Jace, shut up,” whined Izzy and Alec started laughing because he knew where Jace was going with that and he was happy that she stepped in before he could get carried away. Once Jace saw that he was being ignored, he mentally flipped both Izzy and Alec, pulled out his phone and decided to tell them. He was texting Clary all about it! And while Jace was having his own little pity party, Alec and Izzy decided to make plans. 

They looked at some of the rings online and Alec immediately found one that he wanted to give to Magnus. It was kind of expensive, but it didn’t matter and his heart was beating fast once he tapped the  _ check out _ button in his shopping cart section and he smiled happily. He couldn’t wait for the ring to arrive so that he could give it to Magnus; this was so exciting!


	29. Chapter 29

“What do you mean your mother is coming?!” asked Magnus as his pitch grew higher and Alec chewed on his lip and then he rubbed the back of his neck. Magnus was over at his place, Jace was out with Clary again, so they got some alone time - at least that was what Magnus thought that was going to happen, but after ten minutes from his arrival to Alec’s place, his boyfriend told him that Maryse was coming over and Magnus panicked. He didn’t know that this was going to happen, Alec didn’t mention anything about it yesterday when they made plans that they would be hanging out over at Alec’s place. He didn’t mention it over the texts earlier that day - so he didn’t know at all that this was happening. If he would, he wouldn’t come or he would come better prepared. But now he was completely caught off guard and he didn’t know what to do.

“Magnus, calm down,” said Alec quickly and Magnus took a deep breath, but he wasn’t really calming down at all - how could he? He was about to meet Alec’s mother. She didn’t know about their relationship, so he was just confused. Magnus was biting on his lip and was trying to play it off cool, but Alec could tell that his boyfriend was freaking out. They’ve been together for a while, it wasn’t too soon to meet the parents, Alexander had met his father and Magnus has met Robert, but Maryse didn’t know about them and he was just confused. Also scared, he didn’t want to make a bad impression. Or do something that would complicate things for Alexander. 

“I’m trying,” said Magnus and huffed under his breath. “I just - why didn’t you tell me that you mom is going to be coming over as well?” asked Magnus and Alec just sighed under his breath and then he shrugged. Magnus narrowed his eyes; what was with that reaction? Magnus wasn’t really impressed, not at all.

“I didn’t know that she would be coming over,” said Alec and Magnus arched his brow. “At least yesterday, but today she called me and she asked me if I’m free to hang out a little bit. She missed me and because she has a day off from work, she asked me if it’s okay for her to come over,” said Alec and then he clasped his palms together. Magnus looked upset.  _ Was he angry with him?  _ Alec’s heart fell a little bit and he looked down. He knew that he should have told him, but he just didn’t know how to-

“But you knew today?” asked Magnus.

“Yeah.”

“You knew when we texted?”

“I-I did,” said Alec and then huffed under his breath. Okay, Magnus sounded a little bit pissed off and he had every right for that. Alec didn’t mean to lie - well, it wasn’t really lying - but he was just… he didn’t know how to tell him. He was just too nervous and he wanted for Maryse to meet Magnus. Maybe it was too selfish of him, but he was just too scared to tell him mother on his own about Magnus. And then he remembered how Magnus was there for him when he came out to his father and it was just a lot easier if he was around. But, yes, he shouldn’t be pressuring Magnus into meeting his mom. Maybe it was still too soon for him, Magnus said that he liked taking things slowly. 

Alec did feel bad about not telling Magnus about it. “You should have told me,” said Magnus and Alec bowed his head down and then he nodded. He did realise that and Magnus crossed his arms on top of his chest - he could tell that Alexander felt guilty about it and he pouted. “So,” said Magnus in the end, his voice sounding a bit warmer. “What’s the plan then? I mean… you haven’t told her about me yet, right?” asked Magnus and Alec nodded slowly and Magnus smiled softly. “So, I’m your friend or?”

Alec shook his head, still feeling really bad about it and he puffed his cheeks. “I’m sorry,” said Alec quickly and then he chewed on his lip. He didn’t want Magnus to feel upset even if he had every right to do so. “I didn’t mean to lie,” said Alec and then he shook his head. “I just didn’t know how to tell you. I mean I can’t really say no to my mom especially when she says that she missed me and-and we also had plans that I didn’t want to cancel and it’s just,” said Alec, stumbling over his words badly.

Magnus bit his lip and he cocked his head to the side. Alec was stuttering, his eyes were fixed on the floor - he wouldn’t look up at Magnus. Guilt. Alec was feeling guilty and Magnus puffed his cheeks. Magnus knew that he overreacted and he didn’t like the fact that he made Alec feel guilty.  _ Oh he was very bad when it came to being upset at Alec.  _ Though he wasn’t really upset, he was just worried about making a bad impression and he opened his mouth to say something, but Alec was quicker that time. 

“Are you angry with me?” asked Alec suddenly and Magnus shook his head.

“No, I’m really not. I was just-”

“I really didn’t mean to lie to you like this,” said Alec. Alec then stood up and was circling around the living room as he was trying to apologise properly. Oh, he really didn’t know what to say and Magnus wanted to tell him that he was making a bigger issue out of this than it really was, but Alec didn’t really give him the chance to speak. “I-I was just,” said Alec and then he clasped his hands together behind his back. “You know,” said Alec and bit his lip. “I’ve been meaning to tell my mom about the two of us, but everytime that I’m about to do so I’m just,” he said and he shrugged. “I just… I thought if you were here with me that it would be easier,” said Alec and Magnus’ eyes widened.

“Oh, Alexander,” said Magnus.

“But I didn’t want to pressure you into meeting my mom. If you aren’t ready then it’s fine, you can leave and we can just hang out another time or-” said Alec, but in the end of it all his voice just trialed off and he just bit his lip and decided to stay silent until Magnus would say something. Magnus stood up as well and he walked over to his boyfriend, pulling him closer as he reached out with his hand, wrapping his fingers around Alec’s wrist very gently as he tugged on his hand, giving him a little smile and he again shook his head because he needed Alec to know that he wasn’t upset.

“I’m not angry,” said Magnus quickly.

“Are you sure?” whispered Alec as the reaction that he got before made him believe otherwise.

“Positive,” said Magnus and smiled. Also he found it sweet that Alec wanted him there when he would come out to his mother. Also he didn’t mind being there at all; he was more than happy to be Alec’s support when he needed it. He just… well, he panicked and he needed to explain his reaction to Alec properly, he didn’t want him to think that he was upset. “You know the only reason why I reacted that way is because I want to make a good impression. I mean I knew I was meeting your mom today, I would bring at least a bottle of fine wine with me or something like that,” said Magnus and Alec finally relaxed and he huffed under his breath.

That was all? Magnus really wasn’t upset with him? That made Alec feel a lot better and he just chuckled softly.  _ Thank Goodness.  _ “Magnus, you don’t need to bother with any fancy gifts,” said Alec and shrugged it off. “My mom is a simple woman, she is pretty cool, you’ll see when you finally meet her and I’m really excited, I-I think you two will get along very well,” said Alec and he bit his lip. “That is if she will accept me being into guys, you know?” asked Alec and Magnus smiled.

“Of course she will, you’ve told me a lot about her,” said Magnus. “And she sounds like a very cool person,” said Magnus and winked. He didn’t have any doubts about it; Robert’s reaction was amazing, so he was pretty sure that she was also going to be pretty chill about it. Alec huffed under his breath and he nodded again.

“I just can’t wait to tell her,” said Alec and Magnus smiled. “I’m just so ready, I can’t wait to get it over with,” said Alec and made a little pause. “After I’ll be done with this I think I’ll feel a lot better. All secrets will be out and I won’t have to hide a part of myself,” said Alec and took Magnus’ hand into his own, pulling him closer and he placed a little kiss on top of Magnus’ cheek and the other just giggled.

“You’re so brave,” said Magnus and winked.

“Y-yeah only if you’re with me,” said Alec shyly.

“Well then it’s good news that I don’t intend on going anywhere, huh?” asked Magnus, teasing a little bit because he didn’t really mean it. Alec was brave with or without him. That wasn’t because of him, but at the same time, Magnus was more than happy to be there for Alec and if he found it easier for him to tell the others when he was around, then how could he say no to that? It was a blessing.

_ He just hoped that Maryse was going to like him!  _

* * *

“Aw, you should have told me that you’re having company,” said Maryse and pouted a little bit. She showed up a little bit later and Magnus was just sitting on the couch, while Alec was talking with his mom not too far from them. He was close enough to hear their conversation and just like him before, Maryse also didn’t know that Alec was having company over. Magnus was sweating and he just hoped that it was all going to be okay. She was clearly expecting to spend some son-mother time with Alec, but now there was another young man there that she didn’t know and she didn’t really know what to do.

“I know, but,” said Alec and then made a little pause. “It’s just… I will let you know who he is, it-it’s important to me that you’re both here like this,” said Alec and then clasped his hands together. Magnus turned around to see how Alec was doing and he was looking pretty good, but by the way that his hands were shaking he could tell that he was pretty nervous and he puffed his cheeks. Poor thing, he just wanted to step over and hug him.

“Okay,” said Maryse after a little while and she smiled. “If this is so important to you then it’s okay,” said Maryse and smiled. “I mean anyone that’s important to you is important to me as well,” she said and winked.

That made Magnus smile; it was good that she was so open minded and then he rubbed his palms together, wiping off the sweat from them against his trousers and he took a deep breath. He was getting a bit nervous as well and he again looked over his shoulder to see how Alexander was doing. Alec was now just standing there and was trying to say something. Well, he was trying to think of something to say and in the end he just smiled and made a step back.

“Is all okay? You seem nervous, honey,” said Maryse and Alec laughed nervously.

“I-I’m okay, just a bit nervous, yes,” said Alec and Maryse cocked her head to the side.

Why would he be nervous? She glanced over to the young man that was sitting on the couch and was looking over to the two of them every now and then and it made her wonder - just why would her son be so nervous? Alec didn’t really usually introduce his friends to her so officially, but at the same time, it would make sense. If he was really important to him. Or maybe he wasn’t a friend, but a boss? Maryse knew all about his son writing for a writer and he looked like he could be a writer? Well, Maryse didn’t really know, she was just trying to catch on whatever was happening, but she didn’t seem to manage to figure out why this was so important to Alec.

At least not yet.

“There’s no need to be nervous,” said Maryse and waved to Magnus, who managed a little smile and he waved back to her. “I’m Maryse, Alec’s mom, but I suppose that much is clear already,” said the woman and Magnus stood up and walked over to the two of them and he shook her hand when she extended it out. “And you are?” asked Maryse and Magnus looked over to Alec.

“Um, I’m Magnus,” said Magnus politely. 

“Oh, nice to meet you!” said Maryse happily and then she looked over to her son, waiting for any sort of explanation why the two of them were both here and Alec just laughed nervously again and then he hummed. Right. Yes. He didn’t really think it through at all -  _ at all.  _ Alec needed a plan and he needed one quickly. Because Magnus could tell that Alec was struggling with the whole thing, he decided that maybe it was time for him to step in and help his boyfriend out.

“Alexander, don’t you think that it would be appropriate to offer your mom some drinks?” asked Magnus softly and Alec looked over at him. Yes, drinks! Good thinking. Alec nodded quickly and he sighed - it was good that Magnus was there, right! Alec didn’t even know why he was worrying so much over the whole thing, he found it kind of stupid, but he was glad that Magnus was so patient with him.

“Yes, drinks!” said Alec.

“Aw, that’s sweet of you,” said Maryse, taking a notice how Alec didn’t squirm when Magnus called him by his full name.  _ They really were close, huh?  _ Maryse narrowed her eyes and he hummed; how close were they? Magnus stepped over to Alec, who was already thinking about his next move and Magnus gave him a little smile. 

“You okay?”

“Yep, all is okay and according to the plan,” said Alec and looked over to the kitchen, then he looked back at his mom and Magnus. “Magnus, will you help me with those drinks?” asked Alec and Magnus chuckled, but he nodded. “In the kitchen,” he said as if that already wasn’t clear enough. Maryse was just watching everything unfold in front of her eyes and she had to admit that it was kind of entertaining. Alec was fussing so much over some drinks? Maryse didn’t really mind if-

“Oh, I’d be delighted,” said Magnus happily.

“Mom, Magnus makes the best cocktails,” said Alec happily and Maryse just nodded again and laughed softly. “He’ll be needed in the kitchen, but I’ll be out soon… I mean we-we will be back from the kitchen very soon and I just, um,” said Alec and looked over to Magnus, who tried not to laugh. Alexander was a mess and he just shrugged it off, trying to play it off cool. He was also nervous as well, but he was keeping it in better than Alec, who was just falling apart and Magnus was there to help him along. “Magnus?” asked Alec and Magnus just winked.

“I’ll prepare us something delicious,” said Magnus and Maryse just nodded. “We’ll be back in a few,” he then said and literally dragged Alec out of the living room. Alec was then pacing around the kitchen, Magnus leaning against the wall and he arched his brow. “Alexander, I need you to calm down. Everything is okay,” said Magnus. “If you don’t want to tell her, you don’t-”

“I do!” said Alec quickly. “I didn’t think it through, not really,” said Alec and then he rolled his eyes. “Magnus, I’m so stupid!”

“No, you’re not, it’s okay to be nervous.”

“I know, but I don’t have a plan. I tried to be spontaneous for once and look how it comes back to me,” said Alec and sighed sadly. “And-and I don’t even have anything to make fancy cocktails with,” said Alec and whined. All he and Jace had was beer, nothing else. “Oh, I’m so fucked. I can’t serve my mom beer!” said Alec and Magnus stepped over to him, took his hands into his own and then he took in a deep breath.

“First - you need to calm down,” said Magnus and Alec shook his head.

“What’s step two?” asked Alec and Magnus chuckled and leaned in, pressing a quick kiss against Alec’s lips, not wanting for it to last for too long in case that Maryse stepped into the kitchen and Alec pouted.  _ He wished the kiss to be longer.  _ “Okay, yes, I’m calm,” said Alec and Magnus smiled.

“Are you?” asked Magnus as he could still feel Alec’s hands trembling in his.

“I’m calm… ish.”

“Ah,” said Magnus and chuckled. “Look, it’s fine if you don’t have fancy drinks,” said Magnus and Alec nodded.  _ Maybe he could climb down the emergency fire stairs to get down to the store, Magnus would…  _ No, that was stupid! “How about we serve something yummy to eat, huh?” asked Magnus and Alec took a deep breath and nodded. Yes, a snack, that was a good idea!

“Yes, Magnus, you’re a genius!” said Alec quickly, smooched Magnus and hurried over to the fridge. “There has to be something in here,” said Alec and then he opened up the fridge and he blinked a few times. Well, that was a disappointment!  _ Right, it’s been a while since he and Jace went grocery shopping, there wasn’t much- _

“Well?” asked Magnus happily.

“Ah,” said Alec.

“Yes?” asked Magnus and snorted.

Alec was fucked. Yep. There was- “Well, there’s half of a leftover lasagna,” said Alec and Magnus’ jaw dropped. “Two carrots, a tomato and a cucumber,” said Alec proudly. “A yogurt, half a carton of milk and,” he said, checking the freezer. “Some frozen croissants and a frozen pizza,” said Alec and then shook his head. “Alas - nothing,” said Alec, hurrying over to the pantry. “I also have some cookies and popcorn,” he offered and shook his head and Alec looked at him. “I know, I didn’t go shopping, okay? I-”

“Alexander, you really need to-” said Magnus and bit his lip. “We’ll go shop for some groceries after this,” he said and it was Alec that started laughing. Listing the content of his fridge was…  _ sad.  _ And it made him laugh out loud, Magnus snorting as well and he just placed his hands on top of his sides.

“I’m terrible at adulting,” said Alec. ”How about take out?”

“Alexander,” said Magnus and chuckled. “Nothing beats homemade food,” said Magnus and winked. Alec nodded - he knew that, he wasn’t all that bad at cooking, but it was just so much work. “I’ll prepare us something nice later and you’ll help me,” said Magnus. “I’ll teach you a few easy and fast recipes,” said Magnus and winked. 

That was enough to make Alec interested. “Oh-ho!” said Alec. “Okay, I’m game, let’s do this!”

“Now? You can’t cook much with two carrots and a cucumber,” said Magnus.

“There’s a tomato too!” argued Alec. 

“Oh, Alexander,” said Magnus and started laughing loudly.

The two of them decided to tell Maryse that there sadly wouldn’t be any cocktails, finding her over by the door and Alec yelped.  _ Was she listening to them? _ The grin on her face was enough to let him know that she was! And she was quite impressed; she was trying to make Alec see this for a long time now. Magnus was able to get through to him though and she was amazed! “Mom!” piped up Alec and Maryse laughed.

“Do you know how long I’ve been trying to teach him that nothing beats a homemade meal?” asked Maryse and she sighed happily, shaking her head. She heard a lot; the way they talked to each other and- “You know,” said Maryse. “Alec is single,” she then said and Alec’s eyes widened.

_ Hold on! _

“Oh, really now?” asked Magnus and tried not to laugh. Alec’s face was red when he looked over to his mom - what was she trying to do?! Was she-

“Oh, yes,” said Maryse. “How about you? Are you single too? If you are, how about-” started Maryse and Alec was mortified. Was she actually trying to get the two of them  _ together?!  _ Alec was again just so confused, while Magnus was laughing silently.

“Am I single, Alexander?” asked Magnus and looked over to Alec, winking.

“No!”

“Oh,” said Maryse sadly. 

Magnus then bumped Alec and Alec then nodded. Right! Chance! “Mom!” said Alec and Maryse looked over to him. “I have good news - Magnus isn’t single because he’s dating me,” he said quickly and looked down. Maryse blinked a few times and then a bright smile spread across her face - there was something about how they talked to each other before when she was listening to their conversation in the kitchen. Something that made her think that Magnus was more than a friend and she just-

“You are?” she happily asked and clasped her hands together. Alec’s heart started beating much faster when he finally realised what was happening and he just slowly nodded and then bit his lip. “Oh. Honey,” said Maryse happily when she finally understood why this was so important to her son and she happily walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him. “I’m so proud and happy for you,” she said in the end and Alec finally relaxed.

_ Oh, that went way easier than he first thought it would go!  _

Magnus smiled as well; he was so happy for his boyfriend!


	30. Chapter 30

“Magnus,  _ ah, _ ” whined Alec, sprawled across the bed, his hips up, hands fisting the bed sheets and his moans were being muffled by the pillow into which he was pressing his face into, trying his best not to be too loud. As much as he knew that Magnus liked when he got louder, he was still pretty shy about that. He was on all of his fours, trying his best to keep his hips up like Magnus told him to, but it was starting to get really tiring, his legs feeling dumb, pressing his knees into the soft mattress underneath him, trying his best to keep up as Magnus was prepping him, whining again and his hips were shaking as he was trying to get Magnus’ fingers to hit  _ deeper.  _ But it was only so deep that Magnus’ fingers could go and he wanted so much more.

“You’re doing amazing, Alexander,” whispered Magnus, his eyes focused on his fingers that were in Alec - he couldn’t look away. Alexander was taking up his fingers so well and he felt his cock aching, but he ignored it. He was just getting off seeing Alexander trying to get the fingers to hit deeper into him and he licked across his lower lip, leaning closer to his moaning angel, who was slowly falling apart, ruined by his touch. He was a mess of whimpers, mewls and pleads and he loved when Alec was begging. He enjoyed it probably all too much, but it was just-

“I-I’m ready,” whined Alec and then looked across his shoulder. He and Magnus played around like this a few times, working their way up - at least that was what Magnus told him. Alec loved all of it, but he was ready for more. He  _ needed _ to feel Magnus inside of him or he was going to burst at the spot. Just fingers weren’t enough anymore and he whined again, pushing his hips back, making Magnus chuckle and he licked across his lower lip. He had three fingers inside of Alec, who was loosening up very nicely and he shuddered.

Just the thought of pushing himself inside of that tightness and warmth was almost enough to push him over the edge and he was really going to have to need to pace himself if he was going to-  _ Fuck, everything that was connected to Alexander was just ten times sexier than usual.  _ He smiled and he just stopped moving his fingers, Alec moving his hips on his own, fucking himself on his fingers and it was just the hottest thing that he had ever seen. Alexander was slowly moaning out his name and he almost forgot that he should say something, he was in complete trance and he just shook his head, snapped back to reality and he chuckled.

“Mmm, you are?” asked Magnus with a cheeky smile and Alec nodded.

“Y-you’ve been playing with it for-for too long, let me-” whined Alec, wiggling his hips and he whined when Magnus pulled his fingers out, Alec reaching back with his own hands, pushing his fingers against his own entrance and he whined again. He needed something much bigger to fill him up and Magnus was just drooling as he was watching Alec. He could be quite lewd and he loved it, wrapping his fingers around the base of his own cock because just the sight of Alexander was again too much.  _ The visuals were no joke.  _ Magnus gulped and he hovered back on top of Alec.

“You’re really good at teasing me, aren’t you?” asked Magnus and Alec smiled a little bit. Oh, was it working? He looked around again and he saw Magnus’ face; his cheeks were redder than usual and he was looking quite hot and bothered. The little grin on Alec’s face told Magnus that he knew exactly what he was doing and he just giggled as well and slowly spread Alec’s ass cheeks apart and he moaned himself, biting his lip. Oh, he was going to give it to Alec; he was going to give him anything that he was going to ask for, making sure that he’d never forget his first time. 

“I want you,” whined Alec and Magnus nodded.

“Soon, my love, soon,” said Magnus and Alec’s cheeks reddened again. Those little nicknames that Magnus had for him; he loved them so much and he took a deep breath as he wondered what Magnus was going to do next. In his mind; what he wanted Magnus to do, was to flip him over so that he would be able to see his face, flip his legs over his shoulders and then just fuck him senseless into the mattress. 

Maybe he was fantasising more and more about it lately, but he couldn’t stop his mind running. It was just… he wanted it so badly and he was shivering all over, trying his best to keep himself up on his knees. Magnus did tell him that if he couldn’t keep up anymore that he should tell him, but he didn’t mind a little bit of a work out; he saw the way Magnus was looking at him before and it was so worth it, biting his lip and he was about to ask Magnus what he should do next when he felt-

“Oh my fucking God, Magnus was that?!” yelped Alec when he felt something hot, warm and wet against hole. It came by surprise, but it felt so fucking good and he heard a little chuckle behind him, feeling Magnus’ hot breath against his ass and his eyes widened, his cheeks reddened even more just at the sheer thought that Magnus was-  _ No, he couldn’t be, could he?  _

“Felt good?” asked Magnus and Alec was holding in his breath.

“Magnus, what are you-”

“I know how much you like it when I use my tongue on you, so I got creative,” said Magnus and chuckled softly, pulling Alec’s cheeks apart again and he moaned softly, leaning in, licking Alec open again and Alec moaned loudly again. Before Alec was able to control his own moans, but now there was no way because that felt so freaking good, but he was embarrassed. Licking that place, it was just- Magnus didn’t mind it, he sounded like he enjoyed it and Alec enjoyed it as well, but he was embarrassed. He didn’t want Magnus to- It was weird, but yes he was ashamed that he liked that.

“F-fuck, Magnus, s-stop,” muttered Alec. Not because it didn’t feel good, not because he didn’t like it, but he was just too embarrassed. Those words worked like cold shower and Magnus immediately pulled away. He should have warned Alec about it, he knew it, but he thought that he’d like it. The way that his dick was drooling precum, he thought that he was enjoying himself and the way that he was moaning, but it was-

“Sorry, I thought you’d like it, I didn’t mean to surprise you,” said Magnus and Alec’s heart fell.

“I-I liked it, it-it felt so good,” whispered Alec and Magnus cocked his head to the side.

“Thank God,” said Magnus and shook his head then. “It’s okay, I won’t do this anymore, let’s just-”

“I want more,” quickly said Alec and Magnus perked up. “It felt so good… almost too good,” he said, his cheeks burning and Magnus was now kind of confused, but of course ready to listen. “But, I-”

“Yes,” asked Magnus softly and then he slowly moved to the side and went closer up to Alec, cupping his cheeks. “What’s the matter? You can tell me, if you want more, God, I’ll give you anything,” said Magnus and winked. “But I want you to be comfortable,” said Magnus and then bit his lip. “I should have told you, I mean-”

“It’s embarrassing,” whispered Alec.

“Hmm? What’s embarrassing?”

“That I like that,” he said slowly and Magnus quickly shook his head. “Also, isn’t… that place, I mean, I just-” was stuttering Alec and Magnus finally understood it. Alec’s heart was beating hard and he wanted more, but he was embarrassed how much more of that he wanted and Magnus smiled softly and he kissed Alec’s forehead.

“There’s no need to be embarrassed about something that you like,” said Magnus and Alec nodded. Yes, he knew that. Magnus always made sure to tell him that. “Rimming feels so fucking good, enjoy it,” said Magnus and winked again, Alec’s cheeks reddening and he looked down. Magnus took care of that, gently holding his chin and he lifted his gaze up. “I mean it,” said Magnus. “Don’t be embarrassed, please, it’s completely okay. It feels amazing, I know,” said Magnus and winked.

Alec gulped and then he slowly nodded. “Are you sure that you, um, don’t mind… uh, you know?” asked Alec shyly and Magnus quickly shook his head. 

“Not at all,” said Magnus and almost moaned as he said that, the memories of Alec’s moans from before again flashing in front of his eyes and he shuddered. “I told you, right? Seeing and getting you off gets me so, so hard and, fuck,” said Magnus, kissing Alec’s shoulder, slowly kissing up his neck, his cheek and gently a peck upon his lips was able to make Alec moan out as well. Alec deepened the kiss quickly, licking himself into Magnus’ lips, biting into the other’s lower lip and he gently sucked on it as they pulled apart. Alec was again shuddering all over and he was just-

“Let’s continue?” asked Alec softly and Magnus was quick to agree.

“Yes,” moaned Magnus.

“We’re going all the way today,” stated Alec. They have talked about it prior to Alec coming over and Magnus nodded eagerly. 

“Yes,” moaned Magnus again and Alec chuckled. With a final kiss upon Alec’s lips and his consent, Magnus quickly crawled behind Alec again. Alec felt embarrassment kicking in again, but he remembered what Magnus told him before - there was no shame in what he liked. Magnus  _ loved _ it as well, which made the whole thing even more of a turn on for Alec. It wasn’t long before all that could be heard in the room were Alec’s moans, which were getting louder and louder, unable to hold them back.

Magnus spread Alec’s legs a bit more, the other arching back when he felt the teasing muscle deeper into him, biting into his forearm because he couldn’t handle how loud he was being. But Magnus then added his fingers into the mix and he lost it when he felt Magnus’ fingers pressing up against his prostate, slipping his hand down and he grabbed the base of his cock. He was so freaking close and Magnus was just- “Magnus, no, I need… I’m gonna come, you need to- fuck, I can’t,” was chanting Alec, his hips shaking like crazy and Magnus chuckled softly, pulling back, licking across his lower lip. “I’m-I’m ready,  _ please- _ ”

“I know,” said Magnus and his voice dropped an octave lower. “I’m also at my limit over here,” said Magnus and Alec smiled, slowly turning around and he prompted himself up on his elbows, his heart hammering against his ribcage when he saw Magnus going over to the drawer and took out a condom.  _ Finally.  _ Alec’s eyes were focused on the condom in Magnus’ hand and the older one chuckled. “Eager, are we?” asked Magnus with a wink.

“You have no idea,” whispered Alec and Magnus grinned. 

“Come here,” said Magnus and Alec was quickly over next to his boyfriend, their lips meeting half-way, the kiss growing deep and sloppy in within seconds, Magnus gently pushing Alec back and Alec wrapped his legs around Magnus’ waist, pulling him closer as their kisses hot heavier and more heated, Magnus slowly pulling back from the kiss, kissing the top of Alec’s nose and he then shuddered, undoing the condom with his teeth, slowly rolling it down his length. 

“That’s so hot,” commented Alec and Magnus looked over to him. What was? Him slipping on the condom? Biting into his lip, Magnus reached over for the bottle of lube that was already next to the both of them and he took a few moments to collect himself. “Finally,” moaned Alec and Magnus chuckled.

“Mm-hmm,” said Magnus and winked, caressing Alec’s legs and he bit his lip. “I’ll take good care of you,” promised Magnus and Alec gave him a little nod and he felt his heart beating faster again. Alec was nervous, but in a very good way and he gave Magnus a little smile. “I promise to go slow and will be very gentle,” promised Magnus and Alec bit his lip and he nodded again. He knew how lucky he was that he had Magnus; he knew that his first time was going to be magical and he just cleared his throat.

“I know,” muttered Alec and then grinned, leaning up, pressing their together. As they kissed, Alec felt Magnus’ hands roaming all over his body, slowly lifting his legs up, but he made sure that he was going very slow. And Alec didn’t mind going slow, closing his eyes as Magnus’ lips collided with his and he moaned out softly, wrapping his arms around Magnus’ neck and he pulled him even closer, hearing Magnus’ little chuckle as he was peppering little kisses down his neck. 

“I love you,” whispered Magnus in Alec’s ear.

“I love you too,” said Alec back and whimpered when Magnus wrapped his fingers around his hard cock. Gosh, Alexander was so hard and he lined his own cock with Alec’s, his own breathing getting harder and heavier.

“Turn around for me, Alexander,” muttered Magnus against Alec’s lips and Alec didn’t need to be told twice, quickly flipping around.  _ The way that Magnus said that was just so-  _ “That’s it, so good for me,” praised him Magnus and before he actually had to say anything else, Alec’s hips were already up in the air, legs spread open and Magnus smiled. “Fuck, you’re such a good boy,” slipped past Magnus’ lips and Alec moaned back as a reply. 

A smile spread across Alec’s lips as he felt Magnus kissing his shoulder, down to his back, pressing little kisses in between his shoulder blades and he moaned softly when Magnus’ hand found its way around his hard cock again, thrusting into it and he shamelessly moaned along. Magnus grabbed the bottle of lube again and made sure he lubed himself well and Alexander, slowly slipping two fingers back into Alec, this time going easily and Magnus moaned along.

So fucking tight and hot. 

“Fuck,” cursed Magnus. He wasn’t going to last long, but he didn’t care. He soon replaced his fingers with his own member, slowly lining it up with Alec’s entrance and Alec moaned along.  _ Yes, yes, yes.  _ Finally, fuck, fuck, yes! Magnus didn’t start pushing in right away, he rather enjoyed the view of his cock being pressing up against Alec’s ass and he grinned. “Are you ready?” asked Magnus and Alec nodded.

“Fuck, yeah,” said Alec, barely holding himself back from pushing back against Magnus’ cock, but he knew that he needed to be patient. 

“It’s very likely that it’ll hurt at the very beginning,” said Magnus and Alec nodded. “I’ll go slow, don’t forget to breathe,” said Magnus and Alec nodded again. “Good boy.”

Another praise that stirred up Alec’s dick. “Hurry,” whined Alec and Magnus chuckled softly. Needy Alec, whiny Alec; adorable. Magnus braced himself slowly, holding his cock, pressing up against Alec’s entrance and he gently pushed in and then quickly back out. So. Fucking. Tight. Alec’s eyes widened and he whimpered softly, feeling Magnus again pushing in and he reminded himself that he needed to breathe, like Magnus told him before and he exhaled slowly, taking in a sharp breath and Magnus kissed his nape.

“Alexander,” gasped Magnus and Alec nodded.

“I’m okay,” said Alec and bit his lip. “Keep going, please,” pleaded Alec and Magnus nodded, kissing Alec’s neck again and slowly pressed in, Alec closing his eyes again. The little whimper that escaped past his lips made Magnus worried, so he quickly dropped his hand down and cupped Alec’s cock, slowly stroking his cock as he was slowly pushing himself in. It took him a while, but after a few long moments he was buried into the heat and tightness of Alec’s body and it was just almost too much. 

Alec was doing amazing. Magnus was amazing to him, he kept on touching him all over to distract him from any possible pain. He wasn’t going to lie, it did hurt at the beginning, but the way Magnus touched him, kept on whispering little praises into his ear made him forget about it and he managed to get used to the feeling of having Magnus inside. But it was more than that, it was just…  _ they were making love.  _ And it was indeed magical, holding onto the sheets as he felt Magnus dropping down again to check up on him. 

“Alexander,” whispered Magnus. His voice was shaking. Oh, was he feeling it?

“Y-yeah?”

“Are you okay? Does it feel good?” asked Magnus. “Does it still hurt?” asked Magnus, turning Alec’s head around and he kissed him softly. Magnus gritted his teeth. It felt so amazing, he was dying to finally start moving, but he needed to-

“I-I’m okay,” said Alec and then gulped. “Does it feel good for you?” asked Alec; it was all about him, but he needed to know that Magnus was feeling  _ good  _ as well and Magnus breathlessly laughed behind him.

“I feel amazing. Y-you feel so good around me. So tight and- fucking hell, so good,” said Magnus. 

“Move,” gasped Alec. He was growing impatient. There was an itch that needed to be scratched and the only way that was happening was- “ _ Please, fuck me, _ ” moaned Alec out, Magnus’ eyes widening and he blinked a few times. Right, Alexander wasn’t as innocent as he thought and he grinned. 

“T-that’s the plan,” said Magnus, kissing Alec again before he pulled back a little bit and he grabbed Alec’s hips. “I’ll go slow, tell me when I can speed up,” said Magnus, shivering and Alec just nodded. Magnus slowly rolled his hips and Alec whined. But upon a couple of next thrusts the pain went away and he moaned along Magnus’ every thrust.

Magnus’ heart was happily dancing in his chest, he hadn’t felt this good in a long time, if ever. It was different; Alexander was different from the others and he moaned loudly when Alec urged him to go faster; so he did, still making sure that he was keeping his control on, but it was amazing. The way Magnus moaned along, the way that the only thing that he could really say was Magnus’ name, moaning out so deliciously, the way he was gripping onto the sheets, Magnus’ hand falling upon the back of Alec’s palm and they linked their fingers together. 

Magnus’ thrusts got bolder and Alec loved it. He loved the way he was being rammed against the mattress, yet Magnus was still very gentle about it. It was after one of the faster thrusts that Alec’s legs finally gave in and he plopped down onto the mattress, Magnus going down with him, but neither of them really cared, Alec spreading his legs wider, Magnus changing his angle along a few times. Alec’s fingers were gripping onto his, Alexander was getting tighter around him and Magnus really couldn’t.  _ He couldn’t.  _

He was holding out for such a long time, so he couldn’t help himself as he was suddenly pushed over the edge himself, moaning loudly and Alec’s eyes widened, but then grinned. Magnus just- “Did you just come?” asked Alec, breathing unevenly but it was just so freaking hot to know that for once Magnus lost his control and just-

“D-don’t laugh, I… shit, I didn’t, I wanted you to,” started Magnus and he shook his head. His cheeks were red. Was he embarrassed? Just a little bit, he wanted Alexander to be- Ugh. He didn’t want to be the first one and he just- “I… it felt too good, I couldn’t stop, I’m so sorry, I just-”

Magnus was stuttering and it was adorable.

“That was so fucking hot,” said Alec and Magnus slowly pulled out, completely disappointed in himself as he slowly rolled down the condom, tied it up and then tossed it into the bin that was next to his bed. “You were so hot and bothered and couldn’t hold back, I mean  _ fuck, _ ” said Alec and waggled his eyebrows and dropped his hand down. It was a turn on and Magnus grinned when he saw Alec jerking himself off over at the side, but before he could lend him his hand, Alec was already coming as well and Magnus laughed softly and he shook his head. 

“Now that’s hot,” commented Magnus and then crawled closer to Alec and cupped his face. “How was it? Did you enjoy your first time? I kind of ruined it, I should have-”

“It was amazing, you were so amazing, so gentle and caring,” said Alec and quieted Magnus down with a kiss. “I loved it and I love you. And don’t worry, you can show off your amazing skills the next time or round two if you’ll be  _ up _ for it in a bit,” said Alec and Magnus snorted, but that could be arranged.

“I just… I love you so much,” said Magnus and then climbed back on top of Alec, claiming his lips. All that mattered was that Alexander enjoyed his first time, it was truly all that mattered. 


	31. Chapter 31

Magnus was annoyed. No, annoyed was more of an understatement to describe how he was feeling and he just shook his head as he was looking into his screen and was trying to force out just a few sentences, but it wasn’t working. Writing the new book was truly something new for him and because he needed a break from it every now and then, he also decided that maybe he should go back to his roots and start out a new romance novel, but even though… there was just nothing that he could come up with, why was that? Maybe it was because he needed a little break, he was writing nonstop for months now, but he just wanted to keep himself busy. If he didn’t write anything in a day it just made him feel like crap and he felt guilty. It felt like he wasn’t only disappointing himself, but his fans as well. Still, he needed a break and he knew that, but he didn’t  _ know _ how to take a break. 

Maybe it was the new book that he was working on that was making him feel like that;  _ Under the Pen of Heart.  _ He wished he knew how he was doing, but he didn’t have any kind of feeling if what he was writing was good or bad. And because that annoyed him so much, he couldn’t start out a completely new book either, so he was stuck in a loop - trying to come up with a new idea, but there was nothing. Trying to continue the other book that he promised to his fans - Under the Pen of Heart - but then he started second guessing everything and it was just a mess.

Magnus needed a second opinion, but he didn’t know who he should ask. Ragnor - was a good option, but he just… didn’t know. While Ragnor was very good at giving him very honest reviews on his writing, he wasn’t so sure if he was ready for him to read something that was so personal to him even though they’ve been friends for years now. It was just… ugh. Maybe he should give the book to Alexander, but he didn’t want to burden him. He had enough on his plate with his university, he had tons of papers to write and tons of books to read, so he should wait a little bit.

But that was just that - he didn’t want to wait. He was pretty impatient when it came to writing and if he had a writing block that lasted more than a few days he started feeling sorry for himself and it was just… he was moping around and was just in a bad mood in general. If he could somehow force even those few sentences in a day then he would feel lots better about it, but all that he wrote felt just too forced and he didn’t like anything. He was overthinking every word, every letter and it was just… yep, he was overthinking again and when that happened it just all went south from there. He just needed a break from writing, a break from thinking about writing and just do something else.

_ But what else was there to do?! _

Writing block was something that Magnus honestly feared the most when it came to his work. It rarely happened, but when it happened, it stayed there for a very long time and he just huffed and shook his head, rubbing the back of his neck and he started re-reading the last few pages of the book that he wrote last week and he was biting his lip. That was okay, he liked what he had written back then, but the last page that he was working on for almost a week he hated. He hated all of it, but he also didn’t want to delete it because that would mean that his writing block wasn’t there for a few days, but it was there for at least a week and he puffed his cheeks, pouting. Yep, writing was amazing and all, but when the block was there, he hated all of it. 

“This all sucks,” said Magnus and then chewed on his lip. “Also,” he said, carrying on the conversation that he had going with himself and he shook his head again. “What makes me think that anyone would like reading this?” he asked and crossed his arms on top of his chest, scrolling up and down. But then again, he wasn’t writing this for others, but he was writing this for himself, so it shouldn’t matter. It didn’t matter really, but still the concern was there and it crept in when he was running out of ideas. Or when he was stuck like this. It was just…  _ he needed a break.  _

Magnus looked over to the clock and he pouted because Alec was still very busy with university and he didn’t want to bother him with annoying questions. Magnus didn’t know, but Alec probably wouldn’t be coming over that day, he told him that he was going to be busy with his reports the whole day and he just bit his lip. Hee took out his phone and scrolled through his contacts and he then just decided to lock the screen of his phone again and he shook his head. Everyone was busy and he didn’t want to bother them with his problems. It was just so minor compared to the others; at least that was what Magnus believed and in the end he just decided that he was going to close the computer and feel sorry for himself. 

That was what he was able to do the best; feeling sorry for himself was something that he was very good at and he just decided to throw a little pity party for himself, making himself a cocktail and he then just plopped down on the couch and shook his head.

“Poor me,” said Magnus, spinning the glass in his hand as he was watching the liquid dance around the glass and he just sighed sadly. “Huh, I really need to get out more,” he then commented and puffed his cheeks. Maybe that was all that he needed. An evening out; it sounded like a good idea. It’s been a while since he was out like this, he wanted to go out and party.

Ragnor was right when he told him that he was putting too much pressure on himself lately. Yes, it was good that he was so productive, but still, he should have fun every now in a while. In the past, Magnus liked going out and stuff like that, but lately he hasn’t and maybe that was why he was going through a dry spell. He needed to spice things up a little bit and he smiled.

Hmm, how about a club? That seemed like a good idea. There was a place where he liked going to in the past; Pandemonium. It’s been a while, but still… he was itching to go and his eyes lit up at the idea of Alec going with him. Would Alec be up for an evening out in the club? There was just something about the idea of Alec in the club that made Magnus extra amused and curious. But then again, he doubted that Alec would have time to go to party out with him, he’d just have to wait until the weekend and maybe then- Magnus sighed and then just emptied his glass.

_ He hated writer’s block! _

* * *

“Oh, Alec, he’s gonna love it,” said Underhill when he took a peek at the ring that Alec had gotten for Magnus. It took a while, but the ring finally came yesterday and Alec took it to university with him that day because after the classes he was going straight over to Magnus’; he didn’t tell him that he was going to be coming over. Well, the only thing that he only told him was that he had a lot of work to do, but he managed to get a lot done on the previous day; after the ring came in the mail, he decided that he was going over to Magnus’ place the next day, so he worked extra hard the previous day and now…  _ he was going to surprise him!  _ And not with only coming over, but with the ring as well and he hoped that Magnus was going to love it as well. 

“Right?” asked Alec and grinned. “I don’t know anything about jewelry, but even I like it, so I guess Izzy must have been right,” said Alec and then quickly tucked the ring back into his bag and he then chewed on his lip. “I hope it won’t freak him out though, it’s not too early, is it? I mean I’m still not sure, it's the first relationship and I’m just-” he started, but then his voice trailed off and Underhill just snorted. Alec arched his brow because he didn’t understand what that was supposed to mean. 

“He gave you the key to his apartment,” said Underhill and Alec nodded. He told him all about that gift and Underhill chewed on his lip and then he huffed under his breath. “And you’re worrying that the ring is going to be too much?” he asked and Alec’s cheeks reddened a little bit and he just looked down because in a way Theo did have a point, but on the other hand he was still a little bit-

“Maybe he will think that I’m proposing and then he will want the key back,” mumbled Alec and Underhill snorted.

“Well, you did kind of propose to him already even before the two of you got together in the first place, so I don’t get why you’re making such a big deal out of this,” said Underhill, who was now obviously joking and the flush upon Alec’s cheeks just made him laugh harder and he just shook his head again and made a pause. 

“Don’t,” said Alec, his voice getting higher and his heart was hammering against his chest. He didn’t want to be reminded of that. Yes, Underhill was just joking around and yes, Magnus found it adorable, but still, he would very much prefer if that wasn’t a thing. He wasn’t really thinking at the time and-  _ Ugh, they were never going to let him forget this, were they?  _

“Aw, why not? I think it’s ado-”

“Shh,” said Alec quickly before Underhill was able to finish that sentence and he just cleared his throat. “Let’s just focus on this, okay? The-the proposal was stupid and it’s just,” he said and then decided to just let it go. “So!” said Alec and Underhill just nodded. “You really think that he’s gonna like the ring?” he asked and Underhill gave him a little nod.

“Yes. It’s pretty,” said Underhill.

“I think so too,” said Alec and then he just rubbed his palms together. “Not gonna lie though, I am kind of nervous, but also very excited, ah,” said Alec and Underhill was also very excited about that; he knew that Magnus was going to love the present. But he wanted to hear all about it, he hoped that Alec was going to text him all the details after he would give the ring to Magnus and he gave Alec a serious look.

“Well, it’s kind of normal to be a little bit nervous, you know? A promise ring is also quite a big step into a relationship,” said Underhill and then he looked over to his own hand. He didn’t have his own promise ring - yet - but Marcel did get him a pretty bracelet and he loved wearing it, he never took it off, it was his favourite thing that he owned up to that day. And the necklace that he got for Marcel was also always around his boyfriend’s neck; he never took it off. It was adorable and he grinned. “I can tell you from my experience that he will love it,” said Underhill and Alec nodded in the end. 

“Yeah,” said Alec and then smiled softly. “Well, I suppose I should get going now,” he said and Underhill gave him a little nod. “I can’t wait to surprise him, he has no idea that I’m coming over,” said Alec and waggled his eyebrows. However, he still made sure to ask Magnus if he would be up to something important that day and because Magnus didn’t appear to have any plans, Alec decided that it was okay for him to surprise his boyfriend like that and he couldn’t wait to be finally over.

Underhill grinned and nodded. “Don’t forget to text me all the details later,” said Underhill and Alec winked.

“Oh, I’ll tell you everything,” said Alec and waggled his eyebrows.

Gosh, he was so excited!

* * *

It really wasn’t Magnus’ day. It was a few hours later and he was still laying on his couch, too lazy to actually do anything. Yep, it definitely sucked. When writer’s block was there, he was just moping around and this time he didn’t even mind it. He just decided to embrace it that the whole day was going to suck. He wasn’t even going to see Alec, so what was the point? Did he realise that he was just whiny and clingy? Yes, yes he did, but he didn’t even mind it and he just sadly sighed. 

He did try listening to music; that usually helped him with getting rid of his writer’s block, but not when he was trying to force it and in general he knew that he was forcing it too much, but still… ugh. That was why he decided that he was just going to waste his time with binging whichever TV show was on at the time, sadly sighing because even on TV channels there wasn’t anything that would interest him. But then again, he was just in too bad of a mood to actually find anything interesting.

Magnus was checking up on his phone to see if he had any new texts from Alec, but there was still radio silence and he sighed sadly. He asked both Ragnor and Cat to come over to hang out, but sadly they had their entire day booked and he just faced his faith; he was going to be alone. It was kind of easy before, but since he met Alexander it was kind of lonely to be all alone in his loft. He really missed those days when he and Alec were writing the book together and he pouted. Ah, yeah. Those were the days, getting nostalgic about them even though they happened literally a few months ago. 

Magnus was there just dwelling in his little pity party when he heard something coming from the front door and he immediately perked his ears and his eyes widened. It sounded like someone trying to break in! Well, someone was at the door and he quickly turned off the Tv to make sure that he wasn’t just hearing things, but no! It was all true, someone was at the door and he quickly looked over to his phone - nothing. It wasn’t Alexander then? He always called before coming and he quickly ran over to the kitchen. 

If it really was someone that was trying to break in then he needed to hide and grab something to-  _ a rolling pin!  _ It was big and heavy and if someone was going to attack him he was just going to use that as a self defence and he slowly opened the door of the kitchen, but he didn’t dare to look to see what was happening. It was nerve wracking and he then considered calling the police. But what if it wasn’t a break in? He needed to make sure. Still, if it was any of his friends they would-

Ugh!

He was just going to pluck up the courage and confront the intruder himself. He could hear footsteps, but he could also tell that they were trying to make themselves very quiet so whoever it was, they were trying to not let him know that they were there.  _ How great, ugh!  _ Still, this was his place and he wasn’t going to let anyone make him feel like this in his own place, so he just opened the door again, this time with his all might and he stomped over to the living room because he could hear more sounds coming from there and he just lifted the rolling pin on top of his head and was ready to strike.

“Whoever you are, get the hell out of here! I have a rolling pin and I’m not afraid to use it!” screamed Magnus on top of his lungs. He was about to take a swing too, but then he heard a loud yelp, which he recognised and as he looked over to the other, he saw Alexander, now tripping over his feet and landing on the floor.

Alec, who was trying to sneak in and surprise Magnus was really trying to be quiet, but he didn’t expect this! Magnus surprised him like this and when he heard him yelling, he was caught completely off guard and he let out a loud yelp. When he saw Magnus with the rolling pin he got even more freaked out and he tripped over his feet, landed on the floor and he just rolled onto his side and saw now that Magnus was the one that was freaked out. 

“Magnus, it’s me!” yelled Alec.

“Yes, I can see that!” yelled Magnus back, still startled.

“Why are you yelling?!”

“I- you surprised me!”

“Yeah, well you almost attacked me with that rolling pin!”

“Maybe we should just stop yelling,” said Magnus, this time quieter and Alec nodded and then looked up at Magnus. 

“Maybe you should lower your weapon,” said Alec and Magnus looked into his hands and quickly carried the rolling pin onto the couch and then they both burst into loud laughter, Alec picking himself off the floor and he just shook his head. Magnus bit his lip and even though he was surprised to see Alec there, it was a  _ good _ kind of a surprise, humming along and he stepped closer to Alec, wrapping his arms around his neck and he pulled him closer.

“I’m sorry,” said Magnus and pouted. “But you really scared me. I heard someone trying to unlock the door and I got freaked out. You didn’t tell me that you’re coming over, so I thought of the worst,” he said. “I almost called the police, you know!”

“I wanted to surprise you,” said Alec and pouted cutely as well. “I-”

“Are you okay? You tripped and-”

“I’ll live. My ass hurts, but it’ll be fine,” said Alec and Magnus sighed in relief. He was going to offer Alexander to kiss it better, but he wasn’t really in the mood and he just leaned up and kissed Alec happily. Gosh, he was happy that his boyfriend decided to pay him a surprise visit; it was the best surprise he could get and Alec just moaned along into the kiss, Magnus kissing him eagerly and he giggled, pulling back. “Missed me?”

“You have no idea,” said Magnus. “I guess it really took me another writer’s block to realise how empty and huge this place is actually,” he said and looked around. “I miss having you around the entire time. University is evil,” said Magnus, being kind of clingy, which Alec loved. Alec leaned closer and kissed his cheek.

“Aw, a writer’s block?” asked Alec and Magnus nodded.

“Yeah, it sucks,” said Magnus.

“I need to try harder. As your muse it is my job to keep you inspired,” said Alec and waggled his eyebrows. Magnus cracked a smile and then he kissed the tip of Alec’s nose before he pulled back.

“I’ll be fine,” said Magnus. “It’s annoying, but it’ll be over, I’m pretty sure,” said Magnus, not trying to show how much it was actually bothering him. Even so, Alec was able to tell that Magnus was in a pretty bad mood. But, he knew what was going to cheer his boyfriend up - well, he was hoping that it was going to cheer him up and he just took Magnus’ hand into his own and tried to get the other over to the couch.

“I might have a way to turn your frown upside down and maybe-maybe your writer’s block will be gone as well,” said Alec and Magnus perked up.

“Oh? You’re stuttering,” said Magnus with a smile.

“Don’t point it out,” whined Alec and Magnus chuckled, but followed Alec over to the couch. “I have something for you,” said Alec. He was intending to give the ring to Magnus a bit later, but well - he looked really down and he wanted to cheer him up as soon as possible. Also, he couldn’t really hold himself back, he was too excited. He was waiting for this for a while now and he just placed his bag onto the floor and Magnus tried to take a peek at what Alec got in there.

“You got something for me?” asked Magnus, genuinely surprised.

Alec chuckled and cocked his head to the side - why was he so surprised? “Of course, for you,” said Alec happily and made a little pause. “I hope you will like it. I-It took it a while for it to be shipped to me, but it’s finally here and it’s so pretty,” said Alec and he took out the little box, but still kept it well hidden from Magnus’ wandering eyes.

Magnus’ heart was beating faster;  _ Alexander got him something.  _ He wasn’t used to receiving things, so he was really surprised. But of course in a good way. There wasn’t a thing that he’d dislike, especially it coming from Alec and his heart was hammering against his ribcage. “You really shouldn’t have-”

“You don’t know what it is yet,” said Alec and snorted. “You maybe won’t even like it,” he said and nervously laughed. 

“I’ll love it,” stated Magnus, anticipation growing.

“Okay,” said Alec and then decided to just give the ring to Magnus. Should he present it with the box? Probably. In the end, Alec handed Magnus the box into his palm and Magnus’ eyes widened.  _ Wait, what?  _ Alexander got him a- Magnus knew his jewelry enough to know what was inside, yet he quickly opened it, heart hammering against his ribcage and he gasped when he saw the ring inside. It was beautiful and he looked over to Alec, who was now just waiting for any kind of reaction.

“I-”

“Promise ring,” said Alec quickly, explaining it and Magnus nodded slowly. “I don’t… you gave me that key and-and it meant so much to me and I just wanted to give you something,” said Alec and then smiled when he saw that Magnus opened his mouth to say something. “Before you tell me that I didn’t have to, I know. I didn’t have to, but I wanted to,” he said and Magnus just smiled again and then he looked down to the ring again and then he chewed on his lower lip and took a deep breath. “I-I don’t know, maybe promise rings are kind of cheesy, but when I saw it, I just-”

“I love it,” said Magnus quickly and didn’t hesitate to put the ring on, removing one of his own, making the special place only for Alexander’s and then his heart swelled up even more as he kept looking over to the ring and he placed his hand over it, looking over to Alec.  _ He always knew how to cheer him up.  _ Alec was smiling brightly and he leaned closer. “Thank you, it’s perfect,” he said Magnus and kissed Alec quickly.

_ Who cared about writer’s block! _

_ There was a ring on his finger - promise one for a matter of fact! _

Nothing else mattered!


	32. Chapter 32

“Magnus, by the way, did you manage to move past your writer’s block?” asked Alec softly and Magnus looked over to him and Ragnor’s eyes widened. Alec and Magnus were hanging out with Catarina and Ragnor - he did meet both of them already, but this was after a little while that all of them could meet in a private setting and just enjoy some time. Alec wanted to get to know Magnus’ friends a bit better; Magnus already knew his friends pretty well, so it was only fair. Also, it was a way to get closer to Magnus and he was just happily enjoying their time together, hanging out over at Magnus’ place and Ragnor looked over to Magnus when Alec brought up the writer’s block and Alec just narrowed his eyes when he saw that Ragnor’s eyes widened and Magnus quickly shook his head and mouthed him a quick  _ no _ . 

_ Did he say something wrong? _

Alec wasn’t sure, but Magnus’ smile quickly faded and Ragnor looked over to him, Catarina biting into her lip and she just curiously cocked her head to the side. Magnus didn’t tell anyone about his writer’s block but to Alec and because it was the first time hearing it, Ragnor was quite surprised and a little bit worried because he knew how Magnus was hard on himself when he would run into writer’s rut. He would be way too hard on himself, but he was always sure to tell him about it.

Ragnor tried to make Magnus see that it was okay to take a little break. Even though Magnus missed most of his deadlines so far, he was writing nonstop. Most of the time he would miss out on deadlines because he would get plot bunnies and would start working on something new in the middle of writing the book that was supposed to be coming out; honestly Ragnor was amazed by how productive the other was. But when the writer’s block would come and hang onto him for more than a couple of days, Magnus got really down and would make things hard for himself. That was why Ragnor worried when Alec brought it up and he looked over to his friend.

“Writer’s block?” asked Ragnor, softly, but Alec could tell that he also sounded worried and he looked over to Magnus, who was just smiling at the moment and he huffed under his breath. Maybe he shouldn’t have brought it up in the middle of the conversation? But he was just curious. Ever since he gave Magnus the ring last week, Magnus didn’t really bring up the writer’s block again and he thought that it was over. Also he kind of thought that he told his friends, Ragnor especially because he was his editor, but then he realised that Magnus hadn't mentioned it to him and he bit his lip. He should have kept his mouth shut, ugh!

“It’s fine,” said Magnus quickly and Ragnor crossed his arms on top of his chest and then clicked with his tongue. Well, Magnus did appear to be in a good mood so that was good, but it was only natural for him to worry about his friend. Sure, he and Magnus would tease each other and bicker around, but when it came to writing, Ragnor knew how touchy it could be for Magnus. It was because it meant so much to Magnus and he cleared his throat and looked over to Catarina, who shrugged.

“Don’t look at me, he also didn’t tell me anything,” said Catarina and Ragnor looked back at Magnus.

“Why didn’t you tell me about it?” asked Ragnor and Magnus shrugged it off.

“Because it’s not that big of a deal,” said Magnus. Maybe he was lying just a little bit, it was a big deal, but well - he didn’t want to bother him with that. Ragnor had a lot on his plate as it was, so he didn’t want to put that onto it as well and then a little smile spread across his face and he chewed on his lip. “I mean it,” he said and Ragnor was just carefully studying his friend’s face - he was serious when he said that it wasn’t a big deal? Really? “It wasn’t exactly writer’s block, it’s just this new book is really something new and it’s just all coming together very slow; much slower than I’m used to it, so I just got a little frustrated and I started over thinking every little thing, so-”

“Do you want me to take a look at the book?” offered Ragnor, because that was what he usually did when his friend got stuck with the plot or when he would be struggling with something else. He would take a look at what he had, read it and then gave him some pointers; it always worked, but Magnus just shook his head because this time he really wanted this to be different and he chewed on his lip.

“I appreciate the help, but I have to do this on my own,” said Magnus and Ragnor chewed on his lip. Well, he got that, he told him that this book was going to be very different and even though he knew all of that, he just wanted to be of some use to his friend and Magnus gave him a little wink. “Besides, my muse,” he said and looked to Alec, whose face reddened a little bit and he ducked his head down. Catarina chuckled; she found it precious how Magnus would refer to Alec as his muse. “Helped along with that. My writer’s block is gone for now,” he said and Alec happily cheered up.

“Yay,” said Alec and then hummed happily. “I helped,” he said and Magnus was laughing softly as he leaned closer to Alec and placed a little kiss on top of Alec’s cheek. Alec knew that he earned himself the kiss just then and he just leaned closer to his boyfriend and a little smug smile spread across his face. Ragnor laughed and Catarina just snorted; those two were really just too-

“Well, that’s good,” said Ragnor. It was good to see that Magnus wasn’t so hard on himself anymore. “But even so, you know,” he said. “It’s good to take a little bit of a break from writing every now and then,” he said with a wink and Magnus nodded because he had a point and actually he was thinking of-

“Maybe I will take a bit of a longer break from writing after I’m done with this book,” said Magnus and Alec looked over to him.  _ Oh? That was news to him as well.  _ “Perhaps. We’ll see how it’ll all work out in the end. Maybe I won’t even finish the book anyway and given the pace that is all coming together it won’t be finished for quite a while. I’ll probably start working on another M. A. Matthews book in the middle before I finish that one,” he said and Alec grinned and then he rubbed the back of his neck.

_ Maybe he should publish the rest of the Prince of Edom books in the meantime if he wanted to?  _ Alec was just… he wanted the world to see just how amazing the books were, he wanted Magnus - the Prince of Edom - to have a fair chance among the readers. The previous publishing house did him dirty and didn’t promote the books at all, but maybe with the help of Ragnor and the new publishing company they could release the books again and maybe Magnus would- 

“Can I ask you something?” asked Alec seriously and Magnus nodded.

“Of course.”

“It’s about Prince of Edom books,” said Alec slowly and Magnus gave him a little nod. Magnus was comfortable discussing that part of his past and even though Ragnor looked pretty stiff, he relaxed once he saw that Magnus was smiling. It was always a touchy subject, but he was glad to see that Magnus was slowly moving on from that and once he saw that Magnus wasn’t really bothered too much, he just leaned back and relaxed again and allowed Alec to ask his question. 

Alec chewed on his lip; he wanted to ask Magnus if he was going to publish the rest of the books, but then he remembered that Ragnor didn’t know that the rest of the books were written and all of that so he decided to ask the question a little bit different. “Well, I was just wondering,” said Alec and Magnus gave him a little nod and a smile of encouragement. “I mean you’ve never finished the series,” he started and Magnus nodded. “If you want to, um, maybe continue the series until the end now? I think-”

“Ah,” said Magnus and he grinned. It wasn't the first time that he asked that and he hummed. Maybe he should tell Ragnor about the rest of the books? He didn’t see a reason why he should keep that fact hidden from the rest of the people anymore and he rubbed the back of his neck as he was still thinking about it. “Well,” he said. “I mean I haven’t really thought about it, but it could be a fun little project if I’ll be taking that time off. Hmm, what do you think, Ragnor?”

“Seriously?!” asked Ragnor. 

“Why not?” asked Magnus with a chuckle.

“I mean,” said Ragnor because he didn’t want Magnus to misunderstand things. “I didn’t mean it like that,” he said and hummed. “I just didn’t expect you to ever even consider going back to that pen name,” he said and Magnus nodded in the end. That much made sense - he didn’t think it himself, but now… it was different. It was different because of Alec and no matter how cheesy it sounded, Alec did change him a lot ever since the two of them met and it was all the change for the better.

“Neither did I,” said Magnus in the end and then glanced towards Alec again, who was now just shyly smiling as he was looking over to Magnus and he was excited; whenever there was talk about Prince of Edom, he just couldn’t control his own excitement. “But a lot has changed since then and,” he said and then took Alec’s hand into his own, linking their fingers together. Catarina smiled because she knew that he was talking about meeting Alec and so did Ragnor. “Maybe I’m ready to publish the last two books, I mean everything is ready and-”

“What do you mean?” asked Catarina, interrupting Magnus and the other smiled.

“Actually,” said Magnus and then made a little pause. “I never mentioned anything because it was just too painful, but,” said Magnus and then held in his breath a little bit. “The truth is that I also wrote the rest of the books. The last two books of the series have been written years ago, but I just didn’t say anything because I thought it was my own fault that people didn’t like my books and I somehow didn’t want- and then the publishing house cancelled everything and it’s just… ugh. It wasn’t easy, but well,” he said and looked to Ragnor, whose eyes were wide.

“Oh, Magnus,” said Catarina softly. “But it makes sense. They played you dirty,” she said and Magnus nodded. It took him years to realise that it was really them and not him. “Well, if it feels like it’s the right time maybe you could go back at being Prince of Edom for a little while,” said Catarina and Magnus smiled. 

“Yeah.”

“I’m sure Ragnor would help you along this time,” said Catarina and winked.

“Aw, I wish you’ve told me before,” said Ragnor and Magnus gave him an apologetic look. “But,” he said and then smiled. “Of course, I could make it happen if you really want,” said Ragnor and winked. He worked in the publishing house for years now, he was one of the people that worked there for the longest of times and he had lots of connections. “You can send them to me and I will give you feedback,” said Ragnor happily. Alec grinned and nodded.

“I can give you feedback - they are amazing,” said Alec and then bit his lip. Oh, was he again talking too much? Magnus chuckled and then he ruffled Alec’s hair because he really couldn’t help himself when it came to the Prince of Edom series. He found it adorable and he just laughed softly.

“How does he-”

“He’s read them,” said Magnus and winked. “What? Do you expect me to date my number one fan and not tell him about the rest of the books?” he asked and waggled his eyebrows. “I had to tell him,” he said and looked at Alec again, who was happily smiling. “Besides it’s all because of him that I want to go back to those books - maybe,” he said and Ragnor looked at Alec, who was now shyly smiling, the little flush spreading across his cheeks and he smiled. It was all very true and he smiled as well.

* * *

“Since the truth is out,” said Maryse and Alec looked over to his mom and he cocked his head to the side. They were just talking about Magnus - well, Alec was doing the talking, his mother and father were mostly just listening to what he had to say and he had to say a lot, talking about Magnus non stop. But it was also good, Alec finally opened up more about his relationship to his parents and now they were very eager to have the boy over to get to know him in person a bit more as well. Sure, both of them met him in person before, but they wanted something a bit more-

“Yeah?” asked Alec.

“Maybe you could invite Magnus over for dinner or something like that,” offered Maryse and Robert quickly nodded. He would love to get to know the young man better as well; he still didn’t really know a lot about Magnus, but he and Alec were together for a while now and he wanted to make the other know that he was welcome in their place. That was if Alec was comfortable with that and Alec’s cheeks heated up a little bit and then he chewed on his lip because that sounded actually amazing!

“Like a family dinner?” asked Alec and both of his parents nodded. “Oh, yes,” he said and chewed on his lip. “I’m sure Magnus is going to be beyond happy when I tell him about it. Actually, I already met his father a few weeks ago and-and I think it would be a good idea if he comes over as well and has a proper dinner with us,” said Alec and then rubbed his palms together, getting very excited about it. 

“Ah, you’ve already met his father?” asked Maryse.

“Yeah and he’s super dope,” said Alec and grinned. “I can confidently say that I made a good first impression and that he approves of me,” he then added and waggled his eyebrows, looking so proud of himself and Robert laughed, while Maryse gently pinched his cheek.

“Aw, of course you did,” said Maryse. 

”I can’t wait for you guys to meet him too one day, he’s just,” said Alec as he was laughing. “Quite the character, that’s for sure,” said Alec and then bit his lip. Maryse grinned and then shrugged it off.

“Well,” said Maryse. “He raised Magnus into a polite and amazing young man,” she said and Alec nodded. Oh, he wasn’t saying that it wasn’t true and Alec just opened his mouth because he wanted to ask her something ever since coming out to her -  _ did she know about him being gay?  _ Because she wanted to play the matchmaker with the two of them and he was really curious about it. Not that it really changed things, but still.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure, honey.”

“Before I came out to you,” said Alec and Maryse nodded. “You tried to get me to go out with Magnus,” he said and Robert looked over to his wife and tried not to laugh.  _ She did what now?  _ Again playing the matchmaker? It wasn’t the first time and he snorted again. “Did you, um, like know that I was… I mean he’s a guy and I’m a guy, so did you just assume or-”

“Well,” said Maryse and smiled softly. “I could hear the two of you talking in there and it just sounded that there was something there between the two of you,” said Maryse and Alec cocked his head to the side. “I didn’t really know per say, but Magnus was seemingly having a good influence on you - you wanting to  _ adult _ as you put it in words,” she said and tried not to laugh. “And having someone like that as a son in law, it’s really-”

“Hold on a sec, mom, we’re just dating, let’s not get too ahead of ourselves,” said Alec quickly, his cheeks red and Maryse just grinned and waved it off. Still, Alec understood the sentiment behind his mother’s words and it made him smile once more. 

“My point being,” said Maryse. “You seemed happy with him. It’s not about gender, but how happy someone makes you, no?” she asked and Alec’s heart warmed up and he just nodded. Robert looked over to his wife and he then glanced down, sighing. He managed to somehow forgive himself for how he reacted at first, but when he heard Maryse saying just how simple it was all for her it reopened some of the things and he just shook his head. He knew that it didn’t matter anymore and he looked back up, Alec curiously looking at his father, who was spacing out.

“Dad, all okay there?”

“Yeah,” said Robert. “I was just thinking about what we should serve for dinner, you know? We also have to make a good impression on the boy,” he said and smiled. Alec wanted to tell them that they shouldn’t fuss too much, but Maryse was already listing the things that they could prepare and Alec smiled.


	33. Chapter 33

“Cat - be honest, how do I look?” asked Magnus as he was getting ready for Alec to pick him up. The two of them were going to be having the family dinner with the Lightwoods finally and as much as Magnus was excited for it, he was also a little bit nervous. Not too much, but still. It helped that he already met both of Alec’s parents and they were both amazing people, but still it was going to be… an official family dinner, which was always nerve wrecking for him, biting into his lip and he huffed under his breath. Catarina was sitting on Magnus’ couch and was smiling - he looked amazing as always and she just gave him thumbs up, making Magnus smile a little bit.

“You look good, you look good,” said Catarina happily and Magnus smiled, but then the frown was back. Yes, he looked good, but was what he was wearing appropriate for the family dinner? Was it going to make a good impression on the two of them? Also, he was going to be meeting Alec’s brother, Max. And from what Alexander told him, both Jace and Izzy were going to be there as well. Indeed, it was a family dinner and he huffed under his breath. Even if he met all of them and was friends with Izzy and Jace, it was still a different feeling. All of the Lightwoods gathered at the same place - it was a lot of pressure! 

“Yes,” said Magnus and then ran fingers through his hair, trying to fix it up in place. “But do you think it’s appropriate for the family dinner? I mean it’s not too much?” asked Magnus. “Or maybe too simple? But I don’t wanna wear anything too flashy, you know? Because then they would think I’m shallow,” whined Magnus and Catarina arched her brow. He was… serious? How would they think that? They’ve all met him before anyway, so she didn’t understand why he was making this out to be such a big deal.

“Magnus, they’ve met you already,” said Catarina and Magnus huffed under his breath. Yeah, he knew all of that and now that Catarina pointed it out for him like this, his cheeks reddened just a little bit. He was too paranoid and he knew it, but at the same time he couldn’t really help himself, crossing his arms on top of his chest and he shook his head. “And both of Alec’s parents approve of you, no?”

“Well, yeah, but this is different,” said Magnus and Catarina chuckled.

“I get it, I get where you’re coming from, but still. Just breathe, Magnus and not worry too much - everything is going to be okay,” said Catarina and Magnus nodded.  _ Yeah, she was right! _ “The main point is that you’ll be having fun, right?” asked Catarina and narrowed her eyes. Magnus was going to have fun, right?

“Yes, right, of course,” said Magnus, his heartbeat slowing down just a little bit and he puffed his cheeks again, glancing himself in the mirror as he walked over to it, straightening his clothes and he made some finishing touches to his hair and then he nodded. Okay, his makeup was perfect, he liked the way that his hair looked like and he also liked what he was wearing. He was wearing his lucky shoes - as ridiculous as it sounded, he needed them with him - so everything was going to be okay!

“There, you see,” said Catarina.

“Thanks for coming over on such short notice,” said Magnus and Catarina smiled. Magnus called Catarina over as he was getting ready for the family dinner. He was panicking because he thought that he didn’t have anything to wear, but there also wasn’t enough time to go shopping for something. Luckily, Catarina managed to help him pick the right outfit and also gave him a little pep talk, which made Magnus feel a lot more confident. When it came to family dinners, he was always a little bit nervous and he smiled then. 

“Oh, there’s no need to thank me,” said Catarina. “I’m just glad that I was able to help,” said Catarina with a little wink and Magnus smiled back at her, slowly turning around and he walked over to the couch, looking over to the coffee table on which there were little presents that he decided to buy for Maryse and Robert. For Alec’s father he bought some fine wine and for Maryse he got a box of chocolates and a little pretty bouquet of flowers. As cheesy as it was - very stereotypical things to buy for the first time family dinner - it had to be done and he then hummed.

“You think they’ll like what I got them?”

“Magnus, you worry too much,” said Catarina and laughed softly. “I told you, you don’t have to worry so much, didn’t I?

“Yeah.”

“So, there you go, it’ll be all okay. And how can you possibly go wrong with chocolates, flowers and wine?” she asked, Magnus humming. That was very true, she raised a good point. 

“True,” said Magnus again. “But maybe it’s just too-”

“No.”

“Wait, you don’t even know what I was about to say,” whined Magnus and Catarina chuckled, slowly getting up on her legs and she shook her head. Oh, really? He really thought that she didn’t know what was on his mind? After all these years of friendship, really? Cat knew Magnus through and through and at the time she knew exactly what kind of worries were on Magnus’ mind.

“You’re worrying that the gifts that you got for Maryse and Robert are too simple and cheesy. You worry that maybe you won’t make enough of a good impression with them and you think that it was maybe better to buy something else for them,” said Catarina. Magnus’ eyes widened and he made a step back -  _ how did she know all of that?  _ He blinked a few times and Catarina chuckled. “How right was I?” she asked and stepped closer to Magnus, who looked down and then nodded.

“Yep, that’s exactly what I worry about,” said Magnus in the end.

“Well, you shouldn’t,” said Catarina and winked. 

“Right!” said Magnus, rubbed his palms together and then huffed under his breath. He was about to say something else, but then there was a knock at the door and his eyes travelled over to the clock and his jaw dropped when he saw that it was the time for him to already get going. The one at the door was probably Alexander already and he started sweating.  _ Good thing that he was wearing a good perfume!  _ Magnus looked at Catarina, who just laughed softly and placed her hand on top of his shoulder.

“I think that’s my cue to leave,” said Catarina, laughing. “And remember - everything is going to be okay. They know you already,” she said and Magnus kept repeating the last bit like a mantra, which helped. It helped a lot that he has met both of them already and he took a deep breath and then decided to finally open up the door and let Alexander inside. It was so romantic that he was going to be picking him up and taking him to his parent’s house. Traditional, he liked it!

Magnus thanked Catarina again and then quickly walked over to the door, letting Alexander in. Alec’s eyes widened when the door was opened and saw Magnus. He looked so damn polished, like a true gentleman and he couldn't stop staring. The tightly fitted clothes looked amazing on him, especially around his arms like  _ holy shit!  _ Catarina walked past Alec and then laughed softly. “Alec, you’re drooling,” she commented and Magnus started laughing as well when he saw how red Alexander’s face has gotten and the other quickly looked away, trying not to be so obvious.

But what could he do?! How did one not stare when Magnus looked so damn hot?! Catarina slowly left Magnus’ loft and Magnus just chuckled, Alec finally lifting his gaze, still trying not to stare too much, but it was hard on him. “Like what you see?” teased Magnus and Alec just nodded.

“You look amazing,” said Alec and Magnus laughed softly.

“As do you,” said Magnus, leaning up and then he pressed his lips up against Alec’s, happily smiling as they pulled apart and he chewed on his lip. “We should, um, get going?” asked Magnus and Alec nodded happily.

“Yes, mom and dad won’t stop calling me when we’re gonna come,” said Alec and then snorted. They did set up the dinner time for 6:30 pm, but they were calling him throughout the entire afternoon and it was kind of sweet - they really couldn’t wait for the dinner, could they? And as for his brothers and sister - they were also quite excited about the dinner. It was a big step in their relationship and Alec was very well aware of that. 

“Aw, that’s adorable,” said Magnus and grinned. Magnus went over to the coffee table to pick up the gifts for Maryse and Robert and then he nodded. “Okay, I’m all set,” said Magnus and Alec laughed softly. Magnus really didn’t have to get all of that for them, but it was adorable and he just held the door open for Magnus, who slowly stepped out of the loft and then huffed under his breath.

Okay, the family dinner was happening!

* * *

“So, what is it that you do, Magnus?” asked Maryse like the typical curious person that she was and Alec perked up and looked over to Magnus, who was smiling. The family dinner was going amazing and Magnus finally managed to relax a little bit and just enjoy the time there. All of the Lightwoods were there as it was already announced and they were all just having a good time. Magnus met Max, who was Alec’s youngest sibling and he had to say that he liked the young boy quite a lot. He didn’t talk much but when he spoke up he made the others laugh and Magnus then took in a deep breath.

Jace and Izzy knew that Magnus was the Prince of Edom, but nobody around the table actually knew that Magnus had another pen name under which he liked writing. Alec glanced at his boyfriend, who just smiled. “Well, I’m a writer,” said Magnus simply and Maryse’s smile widened and she was very interested in what kind of books Magnus wrote. It made sense that her son was dating a writer, he was a literature student himself, so they both had something in common; their love for books and she just smiled.

“Oh, that’s fascinating,” said Maryse. “What kind of books do you write?” she asked and Alec looked at Magnus. “I mean if it isn’t too forward of me to ask,” she then quickly added when she noticed her son looking over to his boyfriend. Jace and Izzy looked at each other and they wanted to tell the others because it was really quite big news and they knew that everyone was going to be very surprised if Magnus was going to tell them. 

“Well,” said Magnus and then hummed. “I do believe that I’m sort of a celebrity around this household,” said Magnus in the end and winked. Alec’s eyes widened - oh, he was going to tell them? Just like that? It made Alec happy that he was comfortable with telling them and he was feeling giddy.

“Hmm?” asked Robert curiously. 

“Prince of Edom,” said Magnus slowly and Maryse’s eyes went huge, Max dropped his fork and he then looked at Magnus, who was shyly smiling and then he cleared his throat. His cheeks were slightly red as he was… he was under the spotlight. Usually he didn’t mind it too much, but when it came to him being the Prince of Edom in private setting - it was a little bit awkward. He could feel everyone’s eyes on him and he then cleared his throat. Izzy and Jace were proudly smiling because they were in on the secret already and were just happily smiling and they nodded.

“Hold on a second,” said Robert.

“You’re trying to tell-”

“Magnus is the Prince of Edom?!” suddenly asked Max and in the end Magnus just shyly smiled and nodded. “Alec!” shrieked the boy and looked at his older brother, who was now just laughing and he glanced towards Magnus. Magnus’ heart was beating hard, but he was happy - he felt appreciated. He could tell how much Alexander made his name important in their home and it warmed up his heart. He couldn’t fight off another upcoming flush and he just ducked his head down. Maryse was speechless and Robert was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that his son was dating a- “But you’re like a celebrity,” said Max, who was still starstruck and Magnus giggled.

“Hardly,” said Magnus. “Nobody liked the books, I mean,” he said. “At least I used to think so until I met Alexander,” he said and winked. Alec was just happily nodding along and was happy that everyone in the room appreciated Magnus and showed him that his other pen name was just as important.

“That is so not true!” said Max.

“Very true,” said Maryse and Alec chuckled. “Alec loved the books as he was growing up. He was just… oh, he was head over heels in love with his Prince. It was always Prince this, Prince that and if anyone dared to disagree that he wasn’t the best writer in the world, he would get in heated arguments with all of us,” said Maryse and Alec’s cheeks heated up a little bit because that was a bit too much, huh? Magnus already knew how much he loved the Prince and he didn’t-

“Mom,” whined Alec.

“Oh, I want to hear all about it, Maryse,” said Magnus happily and Alec pouted because his boyfriend sided with his mother instead of him. The older of the pair just laughed and shook his head. “Aw, isn’t he the most precious thing when he blushes?” asked Magnus then and Robert laughed next to Magnus and then sighed happily. Oh, this was just so amazing - what were the chances of Alec meeting Magnus in real life. Well, the Prince of Edom anyway. It was… almost like destiny. 

“Alec is truly precious,” said Izzy and winked.

“Oh, yes,” was quick to chime in Jace and Alec rolled his eyes. Both of them were idiots, how dared they team up with the others and tease him like this?! He was pouting, but not for long. 

“Besides,” said Magnus. “I already know how much my books meant to him at the time. He told me all about it and… it helped me a lot,” said Magnus and then sighed, shaking his head and he looked towards Alec, who was now just smiling, taking his hand into his own and then Magnus looked towards the others. It warmed Maryse’s heart when she listened to all of that, Robert proudly smiling at their son. “At the time my books didn’t sell well at all,” said Magnus and then made a pause. “It took me a long time to see that it wasn’t me, but my old company,” said Magnus and Alec nodded.

“Yeah were real jerks,” said Alec, trying to keep his language under control as his little brother was in the room anyway.  _ Magnus’ previous publishing company was made of dicks, nothing but that.  _ They were completely rude to him, they shouldn’t have- “They were wasting his talent. I’ve always told you all how amazingly written those books were, right?” asked Alec and Robert nodded.

“You always had the talent to tell that, yeah,” said Robert. Alec always had a very peculiar taste when it came to his books and he just smiled. 

“Yeah,” said Magnus after a little while and then he shrugged. “Well, so, yeah,” he said. “Alexander made me see that it doesn’t really matter what kind of genre I write,” he said and smiled. “I mean now under M. A. Matthews I get way more sales, but that’s because a friend of mine - Ragnor, who is also my editor - works for the publishing company and he made sure that they promoted my books well,” he said. “Luckily it worked out and-” he started, not really paying attention to what he was saying, but then he looked up and when he saw that everyone around the table were staring at him, he narrowed his eyes and he laughed. “Um, why are you all looking at me like this? Did I say something wrong?” he asked and Alec bit his lip.

Magnus didn’t realise that he just actually told everyone that he was M. A. Matthews. It wasn’t really that big of a deal, but still! Magnus was trying to keep his identity as a secret, but now he just casually said it? It made Alec happy that he wanted to share that with his family, but still! Magnus, on the other hand, wasn’t really aware of what came out of his mouth. At least not yet and he looked over at Alec, who leaned closer to him. “You, um, kind of told that you’re M. A. Matthews too,” whispered Alec into his ear and Magnus looked around and gulped.

“I did?” whispered Magnus back.

“Yes.”

“Oh, well that explains the stares then, yes,” said Magnus and Alec cracked up. Magnus cleared his throat and then raised his gaze again, looking around the room and then laughed nervously. “Ah, the thing is that-”

“You-” started Izzy. Jace and Izzy also didn’t know that and they were just shocked.

“You mean the romance novelist that is-” started Robert and Magnus laughed softly, looking over to Maryse, who was just trying to wrap her head around everything and he looked at Alec. Nobody really knew what to say until Jace-

“Dude, are you serious?! I loved your latest book!” said Jace and Alec’s jaw dropped.

“You  _ what? _ ”

“Yes, we are reading it at the book club and-”

“Book club, uh-huh,” said Alec, who thought that Jace was just fooling around, but Jace just clicked with his tongue and rolled his eyes.

“Is it really so hard to believe that I  _ read? _ ” asked Jace, but Alec’s poker face remained unchanged. “I… Clary and I are going to the book club. An actual book club, believe it or not. Clary made me go there, but it’s quite fun!” said Jace and Alec was just… Izzy was shocked. She didn’t know what was more shocking - Jace attending a book club (an actual one for that matter!) or Magnus being M. A. Matthews.

Magnus started laughing and he looked at Jace, giving him a little wink.

“Thanks man, means a lot and-” started Magnus, but before he really managed to say anything else, the questions started coming in and he just laughed. Alec worried that it was maybe too much for Magnus, but then he saw that his boyfriend didn’t really mind the questions and he smiled. 

The rest of the dinner was a lot more eventful after that for sure!


	34. Chapter 34

It was finished; Magnus spent months on writing Under the Pen of Heart, but it was finally finished. He was sitting on his chair and was just staring over to the computer screen, blinking a few times as the realisation that he finally managed to finish the book still didn’t hit him. It felt so surreal, biting into his lip and he then gasped softly. It was truly finished and he was just staring at the first page, chewing on his lower lip.  _ Under the Pen of Heart  _ by  _ Magnus Bane.  _ Magnus felt his heart hammering against his ribcage, feeling his hands shaking a little bit because he was nervous. He had no idea if the book was good or not, but he did pour every single bit of himself into it, every single emotion, every single memory was there and he was proud of it. He was proud of himself that he managed to finish it. 

It was something that he needed to do, for himself. And he did it, so he was happy. But there was also the other part of it; he wanted the others to read it, especially the readers of M. A. Matthews, he wanted them to know who he truly was. While it was true that it was fun hiding behind the pen name, but he was ready to move on from that and use his real name. Well, at least he was ready to have his real name connected to M. A. Matthews and the Prince of Edom at the same time. He never thought he’d actually come to that point in his life, but he did and he was happy about it.

Sighing, Magnus clicked with his tongue and looked towards the clock; Alexander was soon going to be over, which was the perfect opportunity for him to offer Alexander the book. He wanted Alec to be the first one to read his new book - it was because of him that he managed to write it. Alec wouldn’t want to take credit for it, he said that this was all Magnus, but the latter knew that it wasn’t true. Sure, it was partially true, but if he didn’t have that push and support from Alec (and the rest of his friends), he would have never been able to move on from the past if it wasn’t for all of them.

Sighing under his breath, Magnus just leaned back against the chair and then clasped his hands together, happily humming along. All that the book needed was Alexander’s opinion and after that it would finally be ready to be published. And Ragnor was finally going to be able to read it. He was growing really impatient throughout the last few months, nagging Magnus about the new book and it was kind of adorable - Ragnor was really invested into the whole thing as well. Humming, Magnus clasped his hands together and looked towards the clock again, happy.

A lot has happened in the last couple of months. After Magnus told the others at the Lightwood family dinner that he was not only the Prince of Edom, but also M. A. Matthews, quite a lot has changed - all of the changes have been for the better. Magnus was happy how the Lightwoods reacted to the news of him being the best selling author of the romance novel genre. While it was true that all of them were very star struck at the very beginning and were asking him a lot of questions, he was happy that how they treated him didn’t really change after that. 

Magnus was kind of nervous about telling the others because usually when they found out they would just… change a round him. That was one of the reasons why he also wanted to keep his name as a secret, but Lightwoods were totally different. After the initial surprise wore down, they all went back to normal. They treated him like a part of their family and not a celebrity, which was amazing. They truly were amazing and Magnus was just in awe. And happy, he was really, really happy.

Family dinners were kind of a tradition ever since then. There were a few times when Asmodeus was also invited over to the Lightwood residence and vice versa. They were all very surprised when they saw that Asmodeus was actually… well, Asmodeus from the books. Alec really did a good job with making everyone know about  _ everything _ that happened in the books, didn’t he? Magnus found it so precious and a part of him really wished he met Alec earlier in life. Little Alec fanboying over him had to be the most precious thing ever. Luckily, both Maryse and Robert were there to share many adorable stories of Alec and his love for the Prince of Edom.

Shaking his head, Magnus snapped back to reality and he huffed under his breath, smiling because Alexander was going to be over at any time now. His classes finished early that day, so he told him in the texts and he was coming over. Biting into his lip, Magnus just happily smiled. He knew that Alec was going to be very excited when he’d tell him that he finally managed to finish the book. Chuckling, he glanced down, eyes falling upon the ring that Alec got for him and his smile widened all the way up to his ears.

Magnus never took the ring off, he was always wearing it, always keeping it with him and among all of his rings that one was the most important one. It meant so much to him, smiling and he sighed happily. When he was missing Alec, he would hold onto the ring, spin it around his finger and just… it was as if Alec was there with him, humming along and he closed his eyes. But not for a long time because he could soon hear the sound of the entrance door being unlocked and he was catapulted onto his legs.

Alec was there, finally!

Feeling giddy, Magnus quickly waltzed over to the door and before he even gave Alec the chance to take off his jacket, he already threw himself into his arms and Alec just started laughing happily because that was one hell of a welcome, huh? He didn’t mind it one bit even if he lost his balance and ended up falling onto the floor, Magnus landing on top of him and they both just started laughing. Magnus leaned down and pressed a long kiss upon Alec’s lips and then pressed his forehead up against the other’s.

“Ah, someone’s excited to see me,” said Alec and Magnus nodded, giggling happily when he felt Alec’s arms going around his waist. “You seem in a good mood, hmm?” asked Alec and reached up with his hand, gently cupping Magnus’ face. The other just nuzzled into the touch and Magnus chuckled. Magnus was too adorable! “Something good happened?” he asked. He was always so happy to see Magnus in such a good mood.

“Yes,” said Magnus happily.

“Oh, do tell, do tell - don’t keep me in suspense,” said Alec happily and Magnus smiled and then shyly looked away, thinking about it. Hmm, maybe he should first ask Alec about his day; he did come from university, which was probably evil and just- 

“How was your day?” asked Magnus instead and Alec just waved it off.

“Long, evil and boring,” said Alec and Magnus snorted. “Enough about me - make my day by sharing your good news. I wanna hear all about it,” said Alec. Magnus smiled and then sighed happily, finally picking himself off the floor and he helped Alec up onto his legs as well, offering him his hand, which Alec was more than happy to take and was pulled up onto his legs. “So?” asked Alec cutely and Magnus smiled, nodding and he walked over to the couch, Alec of course following him quickly and they sat down.

Ah, Magnus felt so giddy, biting into his lip and then he clasped his hands together in his lap. “Okay,” said Magnus and Alec was happily waiting and listening. “I’ve finally managed to finish it,” he said and Alec’s eyes grew. Oh, Magnus didn’t have to point it out for him what exactly was finished; Alec knew it all too well and he- “The book, it’s-it’s all finished,” he said and then he bit his lip. Alec was in awe and also - he was just so proud.  _ Magnus managed to finish that book that he was working on for such a long time!  _ Magnus was amazing and Alec was now in an amazing mood. 

What happened in class didn’t matter anymore and he just rubbed his palms together; when was he going to get the opportunity to read it? Alec snorted at his own thought; was he too greedy? But he couldn’t help it; he couldn’t get enough of Magnus’ writing. In the last few months he read all of the books that Magnus published under M. A. Matthews, but his hunger was still there; he could never get enough so now that he knew that there was more he was just-

“Oh, that’s amazing,” said Alec in the end and Magnus beamed at him. Alec was in such an amazing mood and he quickly leaned over to his boyfriend, kissing his lips and Magnus quickly kissed him back, Alec grinning after the two of them pulled away and he sighed happily. “Congrats, I’m so proud of you. See, I told you that you would be able to do it,” said Alec because there were a lot of times that Magnus thought of giving up. It was the book that was the hardest to write, but it was the one that also meant the most to him and he cleared his throat, his cheeks reddening a little bit.

A compliment from Alec always made him feel so many things and he chuckled. “Thank you so much,” said Magnus and then bit his lip. There was another thing that he wanted to ask Alec. He kind of told him that he would be the first one that would get to read the book, but he still felt a little bit- It was also the fact that he was nervous about someone else reading it even if he did write it with the purpose of it being published. He still had mixed feelings about it and he huffed under his breath.

“Oh, don’t thank me,” said Alec and then beamed at the other. “I think this calls for a celebration, hmm? How about we have a drink or something like that?” offered Alec because he was just so happy and Magnus grinned.

“Oh, of course,” said Magnus and Alec stood up.

“Okay, I’ll make us-”

“Actually, there’s something else that I wanna ask you,” said Magnus and Alec quickly turned to him and nodded. Alec was praying that Magnus was going to offer the book to him, he wanted to read it so much, rubbing his palms together. “You know how I said that you’d be the first one that would get to read it after it would be finished?” asked Magnus slowly and Alec’s eyes lit up.

“Yes, please,” said Alec quickly. “Gimme, gimme,” he carried on and when he realised how he was acting, he cleared his throat and looked down. Magnus brust out laughing because Alec was just- “I mean, yes, I would be very happy to read your new book and give you my honest and unbiased opinion about it. I, as a literature student will do my best to-” started Alec, but Magnus’ laughter but him off in the middle of his sentence and he looked over to the other, who was still laughing.

“You’re such a dork,” said Magnus and Alec narrowed his eyes.

“What?” he whined.

“Nothing,” said Magnus and winked. “It does make me happy that you’re so excited to read it though,” he said and waggled his eyebrows.

“You know I am, Magnus. I read all of your books, I am deprived, I need more. Like actually I need more, please,” said Alec.  _ Was he begging?  _ Yep, that he was. Alec begging was always the most adorable and amusing thing, Magnus placing his arms on top of his chest and he just shook his head. “What’s the title?” asked Alec, finally getting himself under control - kind of. 

“You’ll see,” said Magnus and then stood up. “Wait here, I’ll be right back,” said Magnus and walked over into his office to go and grab his laptop. Alec was patiently waiting for the other to come back and his heart started beating with excitement when Magnus came back with his laptop and placed it on top of his lap and then hummed, taking a little pause. “The file with the book is opened, so you can just go ahead and unlock my computer,” said Magnus softly. 

Alec did as he was told, rubbing his palms together. Magnus told him his password, quickly typing it in and his heart was now beating really fast because this was it. This was finally going to be- Ah, he was too excited, slowly waiting for the computer to open up and then his eyes travelled down when he saw that the computer was finally turned on, taking in a deep breath. The file was indeed opened - it was the title page and Alec’s eyes widened when he read it.

**_Under the Pen of Heart_ **

**_by_ **

**_Magnus Bane_ **

The title wasn’t what shocked Alec, not at all. But it was when said under the word ‘by’. The book was by  _ Magnus Bane!  _ Alec let out a hitched breath and he glanced over to Magnus, who was now shyly smiling and waiting for any kind of reaction. He didn’t know what exactly to expect. Besides, Alec didn’t really read the book yet, but still - seeing that he was going to be publishing under his real name should be a surprise and it was. Alec looked really surprised and Magnus bit his lip.

“Alec, is-”

“You’ll publish it under your real name?” asked Alec slowly and Magnus gave him a little nod.

“It’s been on my mind for a while before I started writing this book. And I said that it’s going to be a lot different from what I usually write. When I said that it’s going to be more personal, I meant it,” said Magnus and Alec nodded. “In there is everything - what got me into writing, my struggles as the Prince of Edom and-and more,” said Magnus, his voice trailing off and he cleared his throat. “I’m very nervous as you can tell. I have no idea if it’s any good and I really want you to be objective. Doesn’t matter if we’re dating, I really want an honest opinion from you,” said Magnus. “Even if it’s not good, I’ll be okay. I just-”

“Magnus it will be amazing, I can already tell,” said Alec and Magnus chuckled.

“Because you’re totally not biased, right?” asked Magnus with a wink.

“Yep,” said Alec and shrugged. “I’ve technically fallen for you years before we met so,” said Alec and Magnus’ face turned red.  _ He was way too smooth!  _ Alec had his way with words as well and Magnus just glanced down, his cheeks burning up and Alec chuckled - what was with that reaction? Did he just make Magnus blush? Oh, he loved when he was able to make Magnus blush so easily; he was very proud of that and he was getting better and better at it. Magnus maybe didn’t like it, but Alec sure as hell did and he grinned.

“I… that was way too-”

“Cheesy, huh?” asked Alec and laughed loudly. 

“In a way, but I like it when you’re being cheesy like this,” said Magnus and Alec grinned and then looked towards the screen again.

“You know,” said Alec. “I’m ready proud of you,” he said. “I mean look at you - you’re out here, ready to use your own name when publishing a book. This is huge and I’m just so… proud and have so much respect for you,” he said and Magnus was blushing again. “I truly… that requires so much courage,” he said and Magnus tried to wave it off.

“It’s nothing-”

“It’s not nothing, Magnus, this is amazing,” said Alec, biting his lip again and sighed happily. “You’re amazing,” he said. “Don’t forget me when you get all popular, I mean now there’s your real name attached to the best selling author of romance novels,” said Alec, who was now just kidding, but Magnus quickly kissed him and he shook his head.

“I’ll never-” said Magnus and chuckled. Of course Alexander was kidding and he just kissed the dork’s cheek and Alec grinned. “I hope you do know that none of this would be possible without you, right?” asked Magnus and it was Alec’s turn to flush, clearing his throat and he just sighed happily.

“Well… I’m the muse,” said Alec. “So, in a way, yes, I-”

“You’re such a dork,” said Magnus.

“Yes, yes, I am,” sad Alec and Magnus shook his head.

“C’mere,” said Magnus and pulled Alec, kissing him again and Alec was more than happy to kiss him back. He was looking forward to reading the book. 

_ Finally!  _


	35. Chapter 35

Alec was dragging out reading the rest of Prince of the Edom when Magnus gave them to him, but he couldn’t do the same with the new book because he needed to read it as soon as it was possible. Not because Magnus needed his review as soon as it was possible, but because he, himself,  _ needed _ to read the book. It was just… he couldn’t not read it. He loved Magnus’ writing and because this was the first book that he was going to be published under his real name and not from hiding behind the walls of other pen names, it was even more important to Alec. So, there he was, sitting in his room, locked as he didn’t want Jace to barge in like he usually would and was just eating up word by word, page by page and he was completely in love. 

The book was different from all of the others that Magnus wrote. In a way, it was more like the Prince of Edom ones, but it was of course a lot more serious. He wasn’t hiding the events from his life and masking them in the world of fantasy - all of that made things feel a lot more  _ adult.  _ Serious. The tone of the book was serious, it was of course a lot different from the books that he released under the name of M. A. Matthews, but even if it was different, it was a good kind of a difference. He could feel every emotion that Magnus put into the book. Every word, every sentence held such a powerful meaning and Alec was just… he couldn’t know how to put it in words.

To some extent, he was very heavily biased because all in all, Magnus was his boyfriend, but even if he tried to be objective and look into the book from the perspective as a literature student, this was a masterpiece. Alec had never read anything like that and it wasn’t a stretch, he meant when he thought that. It was different. It was raw, the words stripped Alec down. They’ve made him cry more than once, but he was also  _ happy _ because Magnus chose to show this side of himself to him first and he knew how much that meant to Magnus. And it meant the world to Alec as well.

It wasn’t just literature, but it was art. Everything was brilliant and he couldn’t believe that Magnus blessed him with such a work. It was outstanding, holding back his breath as he was slowly scrolling down the page and he had to take a little break as he glanced over to the side and he huffed under his breath, looking over to his phone and he quickly grabbed it. He just needed to tell Magnus how much he loved him, that was all. It was just… reading the book made him fall in love with Magnus even more and he knew for a fact that his boyfriend was probably impatiently waiting back at his own loft, waiting for his comment on the book. It was just the next day, but it was very clear that Alec would read the book as soon as possible and he huffed under his breath, finding Magnus’ name among his contacts and he just smiled and pressed his name on the screen, deciding to let him know how much he loved the book already and he only read the first five chapters.

**Alec:** Babe, I love you so much <3

Alec blinked a few times, but that was honestly the first thing that came to his mind and he quickly sent the text. The plan was to go back to reading, but Magnus’ reply came back almost a few seconds later and Alec chuckled, quickly opening up the text from Magnus and he could see that Magnus still wasn’t done with texting him as there was the small icon on the lower part of the screen that told Alec that Magnus was still typing. Aw, he was beyond adorable.

**Magnus:** I love you too, Alexander. What happens?

**Magnus:** Oh, no, are you reading the book? You are, aren’t you? And now you’re buttering up to me, saying all these nice things because you are about to tell me that you really hate the book and that it has no future of being published. It’s okay, I had a feeling, just break it slowly to me. How horrible is it? Do you think I can somehow improve it? Maybe you could help me with it?

Alec’s jaw hit the floor when he read the next, much longer text that Magnus sent to him and he blinked a few times.  _ That was what the other thought?  _ Oh, it couldn’t be further away from the truth. Alec bit his lip and then he just shook his head, deciding that maybe it was for the best to call Magnus. He just couldn’t convey it in texts how much he loved the book so far, so he just cleared his throat and then he called Magnus, who picked up immediately and Alec laughed softly.

“ _ Okay, so how bad is it? Tell me, it’s okay, I can take it. I mean you can go easy on me, but I did tell you that I want your complete and uncensored opinion, so just come at me. I’m a grown up, I can take it. Is it horrible? _ ” asked Magnus on the other side of the phone call and Alec shook his head. Ah, Magnus was still so… well, it made sense that he was self-conscious this time around. It was the first book that he was working on under his real name. Not to mention that it was the first book that he was just writing about  _ himself.  _ Smiling, Alec finally spoke up.

“Can you please let me speak? I wanted to tell you that, yes, I started reading the book already,” said Alec and heard how Magnus gasped and then he wanted to tell him how much he loved it, but Magnus was again talking. When Magnus was nervous, his mouth was running even more than per usual and Alec huffed under his breath.

“ _ Ah, so you went ahead and started reading it. I had a feeling, yes, _ ” said Magnus and then made a pause. “ _ Y-you know maybe you should wait with your opinion until you finish the whole thing. I-I mean you still don’t know how it all ends and your opinion might change. I think that the first few chapters are a little bit- _ ”

“Magnus,” chuckled Alec.

“ _ Yes? _ ”

“Don’t put words into my mouth,” said Alec softly and Magnus finally decided to listen to him. “I didn’t even tell you what I really think of it, come on,” said Alec and chuckled, hearing Magnus taking in a deep breath and he could just see Magnus nodding and nervously waiting for him to say something. “I mean I can wait until I’m finished with the whole book if you’d prefer that, I just thought that I-“

“ _ No, no, don’t wait, tell me. I’ve been on edge for the entire day. Just tell me, ah, I’m so nervous. Sorry, _ ” said Magnus and Alec heard a giggle. Okay, a giggle, this was a good sign, Magnus was calming down!

“Good, because I really want to tell you how much I’ve been loving the book so far. I mean, it’s just amazing and I’m not saying this because I’m being biased or anything like this. I’m saying it because I mean it. I can tell how much this means to you,” said Alec and looked back at the computer screen. “I’ve never read anything like this and it’s pure art. Amazing, I wish… I feel so bad for other people for not being able to read this yet. I just… I love you so much,” said Alec and Magnus finally sighed in relief. 

“ _ Oh!” _

“Were you really waiting for my opinion for the entire day?” asked Alec and a smile tugged at his lips.  _ Was Magnus flushing?  _ Oh, he probably was, wasn’t he?

“ _ No, _ ” said Magnus quickly and way too defensively. “ _ Yes, _ ” he then said in the end and Alec started laughing, which only made his flush deepen. “ _ I, um, I mean, maybe? I was just very curious and-and also nervous because… I don’t know. It’s- _ ”

“Well, no need to be,” said Alec, reassuring the other. “Your book is amazing, Magnus,” said Alec and then smiled when he heard Magnus sighing in relief once more on the other side of the phone call and he chuckled, leaning back against the chair and then he hummed. “You know,” he said and Magnus’ ears grew as he was listening to his boyfriend very carefully. “This might be even my all time favourite book that I’ve got the chance to read,” said Alec and Magnus snorted on the other side.

“ _ Yeah, right, _ ” said Magnus and started laughing because that was something that he didn’t believe. Sure, he believed that the book was good and that Alec liked it, but wasn’t he going a bit too far with the compliments though? “ _ Now I know that you’re just fooling around. It’s okay, I’m happy that you like the book, Alexander, _ ” said Magnus. Alec cocked his head to the side and then rubbed the back of his neck because he didn’t get why Magnus was laughing like this. He wasn’t making up what he was saying, it truly was one of the best books that he had read so far and he bit his lip.

“I’m not lying,” whined Alec. “It’s really so good. And different, Magnus, believe me,” whined Alec and then pouted when he heard Magnus’ laughter again. “Fine, if you don’t believe me, how about you give the book to Ragnor as well? You’ll see that he will agree with me,” argued Alec and Magnus chuckled again and then chuckled. Ah, Alexander was too cute. Still, Magnus was too self-conscious to actually believe Alec’s words fully. But it was a nice compliment, his cheeks heating up and he just cleared his throat and sighed happily.

“ _ You’re such an adorable dork,”  _ said Magnus in the end and Alec narrowed his eyes. So, he still didn’t believe him? Hmm, he was just going to have to- “ _ I’m so happy that you like the book, Alexander, truly,” _ said Magnus and Alec was back to smiling and he grabbed on the phone a bit tighter. “ _ I wish I was here so that I could kiss you and hug you right now, _ ” said Magnus and Alec felt his heart beating a bit faster.

Oh, a hug would be amazing, he agreed. He also wanted to hug Magnus and just keep hugging him until he would believe him that this was the best book ever. Also kiss him all over and just hold him tightly close to his heart and not let him go. Alec’s cheeks heated up a little bit and he cleared his throat. “I also wanna hug you and kiss you. Come over,” whined Alec and he heard Magnus laughing softly on the other side of the phone call. 

“ _ Mmm, does sound like a plan, _ ” said Magnus and Alec could just see how big the grin on Magnus’ face was. “ _ If I was over now, _ ” he said and Alec happily nodded. “ _ What else would we be doing, Alexander? _ ” purred Magnus into his ear, which sent shivers down Alec’s back and he smiled again, dragging tongue over his lower lip. Oh, this was getting very dangerous. Magnus wasn’t there, but he could feel his hot breath against his neck. His body was overheating and he was very tempted to take off his shirt, gasping again when he heard Magnus’ chuckles coming from the phone. “ _ You’ve gone awfully quiet, Alexander, cat got your tongue? _ ”

“N-no, um, I’m fine, I’m here,” said Alec and his cheeks reddened. His mind was running wild with all of the possibilities the two of them could be doing at the moment if Magnus was over there. Cuddling was one of the options, Alec’s all time favourite was to be the small spoon in Magnus’ arms. Magnus pressed up against his back, his arms around his waist, trailing kisses over the back of his neck and whispering little sweet nothings into his ear. But there were other, more daring things that Alec was always up for as well. 

Magnus’ long and lingering kisses against his hot skin, his tongue travelling down his neck, sucking in a little mark and Alec let out a little whimper. Magnus chuckled again and Alec could have sworn that Magnus’ breathing sounded a little bit laboured? Ah, he wished that it wasn't just his imagination! “ _ Alexander, _ ” whispered Magnus and Alec perked up again. “ _ Are you still there? _ ” asked Magnus and Alec nodded, but then realised that Magnus couldn’t see him, so he needed to speak up.

“I-I am, yes,” said Alec and Magnus smiled.

“ _ Laying comfortably on your bed? _ ” asked Magnus and Alec quickly stood up and walked over to the bed, laying down and Magnus smiled because he could hear the bed creaking under Alec and he bit his lower lip. 

“I am now,” said Alec and Magnus chuckled. “And where are you? I mean what are you doing?” asked Alec because he wanted to know what Magnus was doing and how he looked like. He needed to know details, cursing under his breath because he was already turned on beyond belief, gulping thickly and he just shook his head. He needed to  _ focus.  _

“ _ In the living room, _ ” said Magnus and Alec heard another gasp. “ _ On the couch, _ ” he carried on and Alec’s heart started beating faster.

“Doing what?” whispered Alec.

“ _ Take a guess? _ ” teased Magnus and Alec wished that Magnus didn’t say that because now he didn’t have any limits with what Magnus could be doing. He could be just chilling there, or maybe his pants were down to his ankles, his fingers around his cock and he was-  _ Fuck.  _ Magnus chuckled when he heard Alec’s little gasp and he let out a little mewled moan, which made Alec grow hard in no time and he pressed his lips together. Now it wasn’t a mystery to what Magnus was up to.

“Jerking off?” asked Alec without a filter and Magnus laughed breathlessly.

“ _ Y-yeah, _ ” confessed Magnus and Alec was already drooling. “ _ I’m sorry, is that okay? W-we haven’t done it in a while and hearing your voice before turned me on and I just couldn’t help it, _ ” said Magnus and Alec nodded. Of course it was okay, did he really have to ask that? Alec was always-

“Of course it’s okay,” said Alec quickly.

“ _ Join me? _ ” asked Magnus and the reply that Magnus got was the sound of Alec’s pants being undone, laughing loudly when he heard that Alec was in a hurry, but it didn’t take Alec too long to be laying back on top of his bed, now wearing only his boxers, palming his hard member through the fabric and Magnus was rewarded by a loud groan and a sigh, which made him chuckle and he hummed. “ _ You can be louder, Alexander, _ ” whispered Magnus and Alec bit his lip.

“Y-yeah,” said Alec and Magnus smiled softly.

“ _ Good, I just want you to feel good, _ ” said Magnus and Alec swallowed thickly. “ _ Are you hard? _ ”

“Oh, yeah,” said Alec and Magnus smiled softly and Alec’s eyes widened when he heard Magnus’ moans getting a bit louder. “W-what are you… are you close?” asked Alec, quickly taking his member out and he wrapped his fingers around the base of his cock, listening to Magnus very carefully, gasping softly again. Alec ran his thumb over the head, teasing himself a bit further and Magnus hummed.

“ _ Getting there, yeah, _ ” said Magnus and Alec moaned along, licking across his lower lip, clearing his throat. “ _ I wanna kiss you, _ ” whined Magnus, his voice sounding a bit more wrecked then and Alec’s huthead was spinning, spreading his legs a bit wider and he didn’t waste any more time, slowly moving his hand, slowly pumping his cock, but he quickly picked up a much faster pace, letting his eyes close.

Alec imagined Magnus on that couch. On that red couch, laying on it? Sprawled across it, his hard cock in his hand as he was fucking himself back into his palm, moaning out his name.  _ Magnus was moaning out his name, chanting his name over and over again.  _ Alec smiled and bit his lip softly and groaned as he sped up the movement of his hand, feeling his thighs shaking just a little bit, turning his head to the side and he had to force himself to say something or else-

“I want to kiss you too,” said Alec and was rewarded by another moan. Alec knew how much Magnus loved dirty talk, so that was what he was giving to him. Rewarding Magnus, it was what what he deserved for gifting him with such an amazing book. “And touch you all over,” said Alec and Magnus moaned loudly again. 

“ _ Alexander- _ ”

“Y-yeah?”

“ _ I’m close, _ ” whined Magnus and Alec smiled.

“G-good, you can come, I don’t-” started Alec, his voice trailing off, cursing as he was also already close.  _ Shit, Magnus was making him lose it so easily.  _ But he didn’t complain and Magnus moaned loudly again.

“ _ W-where do you want it? _ ” asked Magnus and Alec’s head was spinning when he heard that. Magnus was so lost in his little fantasy? Oh, that was so hot, Alec playing along.

“My mouth,” whispered Alec and Magnus moaned loudly again.

“ _ F-fuck yes, that hot mouth of yours, Alexander, _ ” moaned Magnus and his moans got high pitched, Alec holding onto the base of his cock as he was also going to be coming in no time and he groaned. “ _ I-I can’t, I’m coming, s-swallow for me. I… oh, fuck, Alexander- _ ”

“Oh, shit,” was all that Alec said. Those last words were able to push him over the edge as well and all that could be heard for the next few moments was heavy breathing, Alec’s cheeks red when he realised what had just happened. Phone sex, huh? Oh, it was hot and his smile was back on his lips and he hummed as he slowly rolled onto the side to get the tissues, wiping himself clean and he narrowed his eyes. Magnus was kind of quiet? But then he heard his giggles and he smiled. “You okay over there?”

“ _ I’m amazing, _ ” said Magnus and Alec grinned. “ _ Phew, I didn’t even… I mean what brought this upon, I’m just- _ ”

“I know,” said Alec and then chuckled, rolling onto his side and pulled up his boxers and hummed happily. “Felt so good though,” said Alec and held onto the phone tighter. He wanted to enjoy over there with Magnus a bit more, but then in came Jace, knocking on the door of his room like a maniac, asking him if he wanted to watch a movie with him and Clary, so the little romantic moment was ruined. 

But it didn’t matter because Alec was soon going over to Magnus, where they picked up the things where they left off and it was just  _ amazing.  _


	36. Chapter 36

“Magnus,” said Ragnor and Magnus was keeping in his breath as he waited for his friend to say something. Magnus finally gathered enough courage to send the new book to Ragnor after Alec had read it three times and told him every time that it just got better with each time that he read it. That was enough to make Magnus finally see that the book was a lot better than he first thought. Honestly, he didn’t have any kind of feeling if it was good or not. Usually he was able to tell when he was writing as M. A. Matthews, he was able to tell what his readers were going to eat up, but with this one was a lot more difficult because he was bearing himself to the world and no matter how scary it was, it was something that he needed to do for himself. 

“Yes?” asked Magnus because Ragnor was being silent for dramatic effect? Probably, it was something that his friend liked doing. Magnus looked around Ragnor’s office, his foot nervously tapping against the floor, keeping his hands on top of his legs in his lap, sitting down in front of Ragnor’s desk, who finally smiled broadly and Magnus smiled back. Ah, so that meant that he liked the book then. Good! Ragnor then bit his lip and finally opened his mouth, speaking up. The silence was killing Magnus, so he was glad that Ragnor finally decided to say something.

“I just,” said Ragnor. “Where have you been keeping all of this for such a long time?” asked Ragnor and Magnus narrowed his eyes and cocked his head to the side. He wasn’t so sure what Ragnor was talking about, pressing his lips together and the older man smiled when he saw that his friend was looking at him somewhat puzzled. “I mean your previous works have all been outstanding, but this is on completely another level,” said Ragnor and Magnus felt his cheeks reddening. “I always saw so much potential in you, Magnus,” said Ragnor and he was getting shy.

“I mean I just wrote what I felt,” said Magnus and then shrugged. “I wanted to show my readers and-and the world my true self. No hiding anymore, just pure me, raw and real,” said Magnus. “I mean that was what I was going for. It-it was difficult, but it was also… It felt good to finally put it all down, how I felt and yeah. This is how I wrote all of that,” said Magnus and then perked up when he saw Ragnor again looking down at his own copy of the book. Just like per usual, Ragnor had it all printed out and Magnus was curious to see what kind of notes he made next to the text. 

Usually Ragnor had good ideas, which made his works all that better and he bit his lip. “I can tell you that you’ve outdone yourself. I don’t know if this is a one time thing, but you should definitely consider writing more in this direction because this was… the world needs more of this,” said Ragnor and Magnus snorted and then chewed on his lip. “This time I didn’t even make any notes. I mean barely, every here and there a bit, but there’s nothing I’d change. You’ve really… I mean wow, that’s all I can say about that,” said Ragnor and Magnus’ cheeks were hurting from smiling too much, clearing his throat and then he huffed under his breath.

“Alexander said the same thing,” said Magnus and Ragnor smiled.

“Well, I’d be very concerned if he wouldn’t say the same thing,” said Ragnor and then grinned. Alec’s taste in literature was very similar to Ragnor’s. Both of them could recognise talent when they saw it, so Ragnor was very happy that Alec loved the book as well. But then again, wouldn’t he love anything that came under the pen of Magnus? Biting into his lip, Ragnor just placed down the papers onto the desk and then he rubbed his palms together. “Thank you,” said Ragnor in the end and Magnus arched his brow. Shouldn’t he be thanking his friend and not the other way around?

“For?” asked Magnus and then rubbed the back of his neck.

“You’re seriously-” started Ragnor and then snorted, shaking his head again. “For writing this, I’m thanking you for writing this amazing piece,” said Ragnor and then hummed. “And allowing me to be the one of the first ones to be able to read it,” he said it with a wink and Magnus’ cheeks heated up a little bit again and then he huffed under his breath. It was different being complimented this time. It was because the book held so much more meaning to him and he beamed happily.

“Thank  _ you, _ ” said Magnus.

“Oh, I just read the book,” said Ragnor. “I didn’t really do much,” teased Ragnor, but he knew why Magnus was thanking him. The younger looked at him, rolled his eyes and then he crossed his arms on top of his chest. “But you’re welcome,” he said eventually, bringing out a smile on Magnus’ face again and he hummed in agreement. “So, now what’s your plan? You  _ are _ planning to publish this, right?” asked Ragnor and Magnus quickly nodded.

“Yes,” said Magnus. ”I-I am sure,” said Magnus and Ragnor happily smiled.

“Good, because the world needs this book,” said Ragnor seriously.

“Sure,” said Magnus and then chewed on his lip. “And I’ve given it a serious thought - I do want to re-publish the Prince of Edom books,” he said and then made a little pause. “The rest of the series, I have more confidence that they’ll be able to do much better in your care,” said Magnus and winked.

“Amazing,” said Ragnor and grinned.

“Also, I think I can leave it up to Alexander to do the promotion for them,” said Magnus and Ragnor started laughing, but he nodded. Oh, yes, they could seriously hire Alexander to their promotional team when Magnus’ books were going to be released. “At least that was what I was planning on doing for a little while,” said Magnus and then huffed under his breath. Ragnor quickly nodded.

“It sounds like a plan,” said Ragnor. “Also, you should take a little break from writing,” said Ragnor and Magnus looked over at him and then gave him a little nod. That was why he was thinking about rebranding the Prince of Edom. It would give him some time to recharge. The last book took a lot from him and Mangus just wanted to sit back and relax a little bit. He felt like something was pushing him to finish the book and all of the ups and downs that he went through to get there were worth it. Most definitely. 

“Oh, I will, that you can count on,” said Mangus and hummed. “I’d like to travel somewhere, it’s been a while since I’ve done that,” said Magnus and his eyes lit up. Ragnor whistled and then he hummed in agreement.

“True,” he said and nodded. Magnus liked travelling a lot in the past. “Will you be taking a romantic trip with Alec somewhere?” asked Ragnor and Magnus giggled, his eyes playfully bright and he shrugged. It did sound very tempting - travelling with Alexander would be a lot of fun and that was on his mind for a while now. Alec was soon going to be having a few weeks off from university, so maybe the two of them could go on a little trip for a little while. Not too much, but just a while for them to get out of there, to change the climate a little bit. It would do wonders for both of them and Magnus was already getting lost in his little fantasies of going around the world with Alexander. 

“Mm-hmm,” purred Magnus. 

Magnus’ smile was growing, Ragnor narrowing his eyes and then he realised that Magnus probably wasn’t there with him in the room anymore, shaking his head and he snorted. Magnus had a very vivid imagination, he was probably already travelling around the world with Alec in his head. Ragnor waved with his hand in front of Magnus’ eyes, but he didn’t get much of a reaction and he just started laughing. “Magnus, you still here?” asked Ragnor, but Magnus just giggled and Ragnor started laughing. 

“Yeah,” whispered Magnus, but it was apparent to the older one that he wasn’t listening to him at all. 

“Yeah, you’re so gone already,” said Ragnor as his laughter grew louder. 

* * *

“How did meeting with Ragnor go?” asked Alec curiously after Magnus came back home. He was already over at Magnus’, who smiled when he saw Alexander sitting on his couch and he hummed. He could really get used to this; Alec was there when he came back home. Alec was spending more and more time over at his place lately and it was really nice having him around all the time. Maybe it was time if he… well, Magnus was taking it slowly, but it was a nice thought for the future if Alec moved in with him one day. It was lovely that he was there all the time with him.

“Oh, it was good,” said Magnus after he took off his jacket and shoes, quickly going over to his boyfriend, curling up next to him on the couch and he hummed in delight when Alec wrapped his arms around him and pulled him closer. “He likes the book,” said Magnus and Alec smiled all the way up to his ears, pulling Magnus a bit closer and then placed a kiss on top of his forehead. Alec then frowned.

“He said that he only likes the book?” asked Alec carefully and Magnus snorted.

“Well, he said the book is good,” said Magnus.

“Only  _ good? _ ” asked Alec and narrowed his eyes again. Only  _ good _ and  _ like _ for the boo weren’t good enough, not when the book was so amazing. Alec hoped that Ragnor used stronger words when describing how good Magnus’ book was and he bit his lip. If not, he was going to have to have a little talk with his dear friend, because  _ good _ didn’t do it justice, humming along. 

“Well-”

“Yes?”

“I mean he might have said that it’s the best book he’s ever read before and-and that I’ve really outdone myself,” said Magnus shyly and Alec’s eyes widened, his smile back on his face and then he nodded. Good, that was what he hoped that Ragnor would say and he didn’t disappoint him. It seemed that Magnus was just too shy to repeat Ragnor’s words out loud? Adorable. Alec happily giggled and then he nodded.

“Good,” said Alec. “As he should have,” he carried on. 

“Y-yeah,” said Magnus shyly and Alec kissed his cheek and then melted against the couch and then closed his eyes. “I… I’m glad,” he said and then grinned. “But I think that he was right when he said that I need a little break, you know? As much as it was good for me to write this book - to get it out of my system, it also took a lot out of me and I will just sit back and enjoy it for a little while,” said Magnus and Alec gave him a little nod.

“Makes sense,” said Alec. “You deserve a fair break,” said Alec. “Also it’s good to get your creative juices flowing again, you see?” asked Alec and Magnus nodded again and chuckled. “It’s a good plan if you ask me, yes,” said Alec.

“Yes,” said Magnus. “And I’ve been thinking,” he said and Alec looked at him.

“Hmm?”

“You’re also gonna have a few weeks off, right?” asked Magnus and Alec nodded.

“Yep, I can’t wait.”

“Perhaps,” said Magnus and then chewed on his lip. “I used to be a very big fan of travelling way back in the day, I truly travelled a lot,” said Magnus and Alec gave him a little nod again and he was already starting to realise what Magnus was going to propose to him and he liked the idea of the two of them travelling? Right? “Travelling also inspired a lot of my works,” he said. “Maybe this time I wouldn’t have to travel all alone, maybe you could join me?” asked Magnus and Alec’s eyes lit up. 

“Oh, I’d love to,” said Alec and then rubbed his palms together. “I actually never travelled a lot, I wasn’t abroad many times,” he said and Magnus gave him a little smile. “Only when dad took his business trips to London - we went with him a few times, but that’s it,” said Alec and Magnus’ smile grew.  _ He would love it if he and Alexander explored different places and countries together.  _ There was so much out there that he wanted to show to Alec. “A romantic trip sounds cool,” said Alec and Magnus chuckled. 

“Mm-hmm, it sure does,” said Magnus and smiled happily. “You just name the place you wanna visit and we will go there,” said Magnus happily, Alec grinning and he then hummed. There were quite a lot of places that he wanted to visit. How did Paris sound? It was the city of love, so it would be more than perfect for the two of them to visit. Or maybe they could go to Asia. The possibilities were endless and Magnus was laughing when he saw that Alec was already on their vacation in his head. “Already travelling around the world, are you?”

Alec’s cheeks turned red and he nodded. “Maybe,” said Alec and then shrugged. “I mean it’s just such a nice thought to be going around the world and seeing interesting places with you,” said Alec and Magnus gave him a little wink. It was a really nice thought, he loved it as well and he hummed in agreement, placing his head on top of Alec’s shoulder. Would be a nice thought for the future for Alec to move in with him? Maybe Magnus was getting a bit ahead of himself, but still now that they were on the topic of discussing the future, maybe he could just casually bring it up?

“I have another amazing thought for the future,” said Magnus and Alec looked towards him, arching his brow. 

“Hmm?”

“Well,” said Magnus and then chewed on his lip. “I mean it could be still a bit too early, but I was just thinking how you’ve been staying over at my place practically every day… I mean almost,” said Magnus and Alec gave him a little nod. “It’s not… I mean I know how much you love living together with Jace so I’m not saying that this should happen any time soon now, it’s a mere thought for the future but-”

“Me moving in?” suddenly asked Alec and Magnus stopped talking, looking over at him and he slowly nodded. Alec’s smile was growing because he was exactly on the same page as Magnus. He was wondering if it was still too early, but he was thinking about it. Maybe it was still a bit too soon, but maybe after he would be finished with university, he would love to live together with Magnus. He was practically staying there every day, so it wouldn’t really make that much of a difference?

“Yes,” said Magnus quickly and then chewed on his lip. “I don’t know, what do you think? I was just playing with the idea before.”

“Maybe,” said Alec and Magnus glanced at him. “I was thinking about it as well. I was thinking that maybe after I finish uni I could move in with you?” asked Alec and Magnus’ face brightened, quickly nodding. That sounded more than perfect, actually! “I need to break the news to Jace first though,” he said and Magnus was laughing silently. “It’ll be hard for him to accept,” said Alec and Magnus laughed softly. Yeah, Jace was quite the clingy type - surprisingly. 

“Aw, yeah,” said Magnus and then grinned. “I would love to have you move in with me after you finish your studies,” said Magnus happily and Alec waggled his eyebrows, curling up next to his boyfriend and he happily took in a deep breath. “Will Jace be able to handle it?” asked Magnus and Alec waved it off.

“He will survive,” said Alec and winked. “Look at us - having plans for the future,” said Alec, who was beyond proud of himself. They were going to be travelling, Magnus was going to be releasing his new book, then he would finish up his studies and move in with his boyfriend. There were so many things that he had to look forward to.  _ Things were really looking bright!  _ And then he was going to get a job and be a proper adult! Ah, he was amazing!

“Indeed,” said Magnus and snorted. “It’s a good feeling, isn’t it?” asked Magnus and waggled his eyebrows and Alec just proudly nodded to that. He came such a long way since he got to meet Magnus. Not only that he managed to accept who he was and to come out to all of the people around him, but he was in an amazing relationship and was happier than ever. Ah! 

“We’re doing amazing, Magnus,” said Alec and Magnus started laughing loudly when he heard how happy and proud Alec sounded.

“We’re amazing,” said Magnus in the end and then just laughed when Alec wrapped his arms around him and pulled him in for a hug, which soon turned into more making out. 


	37. Chapter 37

Magnus and Alec were finally taking their romantic trip. The two of them were currently in Paris and Alec was having a lot of fun. It was fun travelling in general, but it was even more fun when he was travelling around with Magnus. Everything was going good. Magnus’ new book was in the process of slowly getting ready to be published. It was still a long way to go, but in a couple of months, it was all slowly to be ready and Magnus was beyond excited. And also he was beyond excited to just finally sit back and do absolutely nothing. It was amazing to take a little break from writing and he realised just how much he missed travelling around. It was their third day in Paris and they’ve already seen quite a few things, but there were just so many things that Magnus wanted to show to Alexander - all of the romantic things, there were so many to see and Alec was beyond excited to be shown around such a pretty city. 

The break from New York was also doing wonders for Alec. He was finally free of university for a few weeks and he was going to make the best of it. Travelling around with Magnus was the perfect way to spend the time and he even broke the news to Jace that he was maybe soon going to be moving out and moving in with Magnus. It wasn’t really something that came as a shock to Jace and he took the news better than Alec anticipated. He kind of thought that Jace was going to moan and groan about it, but he was very mature about it - he was a proper adult, maybe. Alec was so proud of his brother. 

And also since Alec was going to be moving out, Jace started talking about Clary maybe moving in with him. She was spending a lot of time there lately and Alec didn’t mind it at all. The two of them made an adorable couple and he was happy that Jace found someone. Clary was a good influence on his brother after all. He has matured a lot since the two of them. Jace was now thinking about applying to a proper university, something that he was going to be interested in and Robert was literally glowing with pride.  _ Finally!  _

All in all, things were going pretty good for everyone and Alec happily extended out his arms and was searching for Magnus. He was there next to him the last time that he checked, but now the other side of the bed was empty and cold and Alec groaned and pouted. He wondered where Magnus was suddenly and he cracked an eye open and he groaned. Magnus really wasn’t there in the bed anymore and Alec just rolled onto his side and sighed sadly, propping himself up on his elbow and he hummed when he heard the running water from the bathroom. Ah, Magnus was taking a shower?

They were staying at a hotel, it was pretty nice. There was a part of him that wanted to surprise Magnus there in the shower and enjoy the morning to the fullest, but he felt far too lazy to go over to Magnus. Though naked Magnus under the running water, the shower steaming up… all of that sounded very inviting, but Alec was still too lazy and he just groaned. Magnus was so selfish that he was enjoying himself in the shower without him - how dared he? But then again, Alec was too lazy to go there and he just turned onto his bed and just blinked a few times as he was staring up at the ceiling.

His smile widened when he heard humming coming from the bathroom - ah, Magnus was singing in the shower. He had a lovely voice, Alec loved when he would hum to him when they were just laying in bed and cuddling. Magnus’ voice was so calming and Alec happily hummed along. He was just going to enjoy his morning right there in bed, listening to Magnus’ singing. It was good as well, but then his peace was suddenly cut off as he felt buzzing somewhere in the bed and he narrowed his eyes. He looked over to his drawer - his phone was there. Ah, so it was Magnus’?

Alec slowly reached out and started feeling around the bed to find the lost phone. He managed to find it rather quickly, but still it took him long enough to have the call be cancelled and he narrowed his eyes. It was a phone call from Ragnor and because he kind of thought that it was probably business related, he decided not to call back. It was still Magnus’ phone and he didn’t want to be snooping around and calling people without his consent. The plan was to place the phone back onto the drawer where it could be safe from getting lost again, but when he was about to place it back down, he saw that there was a text file opened on the phone, the screen left unlocked and of course that sparked Alec’s interests.

Alec didn’t want to be reading - Magnus was working on a new book? Then again, he could be reading something in his spare time, but when he saw the words  _ Prince of Edom _ written among the text he couldn’t place the phone down without having a little second read at it. Maybe Magnus was just reading the old books and changing things up? It could be possible, they were also going to be published this time. Magnus had quite a big project coming up and he rubbed the back of his neck, but he quite quickly realised that it wasn’t any of the old books and he gasped, his eyes wide and he was catapulted up into sitting position when he realised that…

_ Magnus was working on a new Prince of Edom book? _

Alec blinked a few times and his hand was suddenly shaking. He needed to make sure that this was indeed real and after he pinched himself and finally realised that this was indeed a reality, he shuddered and quickly grabbed the phone back into his hand. Okay, he needed to be an adult and place the phone away. Magnus was clearly working on this in secret, not wanting to have him read it. It was a secret project and Alec placed the phone next to his own one, but the curiosity got the best of him after all.

Magnus was still in the shower - what he didn’t know, wouldn't hurt him right? Alec couldn’t help himself when it came to Prince of Edom, there was no way and it didn’t take him long before he was completely immersed into the story. It was a new piece, he was just shaking - he was going to witness the book when it was still in the process of being written. Oh, this was all he ever wished for, this was going to be so amazing. He made sure that he was comfy, rolling himself in the blanket and he then smiled as he was slowly reading, huffing under his breath as he started reading, his face hurting from smiling too much and his brain soon failed to work when he got to the part of where Prince of Edom was talking about-

> _ Indeed so many things have changed, it feels like a lifetime has passed through, yet I still remain here. Being the Prince of Edom still comes with a great responsibility. My father, the king of Edom - the Great Asmodeus - has always tried to find me a… mate, so to speak. Someone that would be there with me to rule the Edom after I would become a king. Still I’m not quite sure if it’s something I want for me, but at least now I do have someone that would be there with me. To catch me when I fall, to whom I can show my weak side and I’m not embarrassed to do it. Someone to count on. _
> 
> _ A certain angel walked into my life, not too long ago, yet I feel like I’ve known him for a while. He’s quite an interesting angel, this one. He makes me smile and he makes me laugh. He’s a Prince himself even though he wouldn’t want to admit it. And he’s an archer. You see, he would make a great king himself as well and my father has really been fond of him. Not to mention that he didn’t scare him away like he did all of my other potential mates. Ah, and Archer is just amazing. It’s thanks to him that things have so drastically changed. _
> 
> _ At the moment the two of us are taking a little break from Edom - we needed to get away from there and now we are visiting the Earth. Ah, yes, a demon and an angel travelling around the world - I can smell a great new adventure coming along and I’m sure that there will be so many adventures that the two of us will have on our little journey.  _
> 
> _ Visiting the city of love, this is where the two of us are. I’ve always thought that the humans are being a little bit ridiculous when naming Paris the actual city of love, but now I can see why. It’s very romantic, especially with my Archer as my travelling partner. It’s amazing, there are so many little restaurants. Human food tastes amazing, I’ve learned, and now we- _

“Alexander what are you doing?” suddenly asked a voice. It was Magnus, who was finally out of the shower, wearing completely nothing, ruffling his wet hair with his towel and when he saw Alexander with his phone in his hands he suddenly remembered that before taking the shower he was writing a little bit. He knew that he left his phone unlocked and unattended and his eyes widened when he saw Alec with his phone in his hands and he pressed his lips together. It was no shock, truly, because he knew how Alec was and he didn’t really hold it against him, but he didn’t know how Alec would react if he would know that he had just transformed him into a fictional character. 

Magnus didn’t really know if he would ever get to finish this nor did he know where this was going, but he was inspired. Travelling with Alexander like this made him wanna write about their adventures and writing as a Prince of Edom was always a guilty pleasure of his, so he decided to experiment a little bit. But that was about it, he didn’t have any plans other than that - writing this only for himself. 

Alec, on the other hand, was livid. What he just read was… it was him wasn’t it? Magnus wrote  _ him _ \- the Archer, that was him? Magnus wrote him as a fictional character into his favourite book series and Alec was just sitting there, staring at the phone screen as he was trying to wrap his head around everything. Magnus wrote him into the Prince of Edom books! That was… he didn’t know what the purpose was of the new book series, but it didn’t matter. There he was, the Archer, the angel, the prince- Alec bit his lip and then quickly placed the phone back down when he realised that Magnus had returned back from the bathroom and his cheeks reddened.

Crap, he didn’t want Magnus to catch him in the act of reading, but well- Alec clasped his hands together, realising that it was very wrong of him to be going through Magnus’ phone like this and he had a plan to apologise to his boyfriend properly. Also, Magnus wasn’t wearing any clothes! That was a fact that Alec was very aware all of the sudden and Magnus cracked a grin and quickly wrapped the towel around his towel, much to Alec’s disappointment. Alec took a deep breath and then crossed his arms on top of his chest. 

“Magnus!” piped up Alec and then quickly stood up, dragging the bed covers after him, wrapping himself in the blankets tighter and he pointed over to the phone. “I know how this looks like, but I wasn’t, um,” said Alec and then chewed on his lip. “Ragnor called, you see. As I wanted to place the phone over to the side, the text suddenly showed up and-and then I saw the Prince of Edom words written on the screen and after that I just kind of, well… you know I’m a weak man when it comes to him,” said Alec, cheeks redder and Magnus just smiled after a little while and shook his head.

“Ah, Alexander,” said Magnus and slowly came closer to Alec, Alec’s eyes again on Magnus’ hips. That towel was barely hanging on there. “Just what am I going to do with you?” he carried on and Alec looked down.

“Forgive me because you love me very much and because you know I’m a dork,” said Alec and looked up at the other hopefully, sitting down on the edge of the bed again. Magnus just started laughing on top of his lungs because the way that Alec said that was beyond adorable and he just clicked with his tongue. There was nothing to be apologising for, he wasn’t annoyed. He knew that Alec wouldn’t go snooping around his phone on purpose - he believed him. Alec really couldn’t help himself when it came to the Prince of Edom.

How adorable, not even dating could change that. Humming along, Magnus sat down next to Alec and placed his hand on top of Alec’s leg. “There’s nothing to forgive, Alexander, I’m not annoyed or anything,” said Magnus and winked. “I know how you get,” he said and winked. “Besides,” said Magnus. “I just don’t want you to be weirded out. I mean you probably saw that I wrote you as the Archer and-”

“It’s such an honour!” shrieked Alec quickly.

“I-”

“I am so honoured, I feel blessed,” said Alec and Magnus just snorted and laid back against the soft mattress. Alec laid down next to him and wrapped the blanket around Magnus as well. As much as he was enjoying the view, it was quite chilly in the room. “Also,” said Alec and Magnus hummed along. “A-are you working on a new book? I mean will you publish? Will there be more about us? Oh, I have so many ideas, you know. For adventures of the Archer and Prince of Edom, they could be saving the world and-” started Alec, Magnus’ laughter cutting him off in the middle of the sentence and Alec pouted. “No? I think it would be a good idea to-”

“For now I don’t really have any plans with this,” said Magnus and then rolled onto his side. “I didn’t really plan on writing any more from those series, but coming here with you and travelling around did inspire me a little bit,” said Magnus and Alec nodded, his eyes glowing. “So for now I am just writing this for myself,” he said and winked. Alec felt a little bit deflated, Magnus narrowing his eyes.

“So, I won’t be able to read more?” asked Alec. Magnus could have sworn that there were traces of his tears there in the eyes as well. It was seriously adorable and Magnus just gently pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Of course you will,” said Magnus with a wink.

“I love you,” screamed Alec into Magnus’ ear, who started laughing and quieted his loud boyfriend with a long kiss. Alec felt so happy -  _ the series of the Prince didn’t end yet and he was going to read more of it!  _ Alec couldn’t believe how lucky he was!

* * *

“Ah, it’s so lovely here,” said Alec, looking towards the Eiffel tower and Magnus smiled, nodding along. It was indeed a lovely evening out for the two of them. They’ve eaten an amazing dinner and now they were just walking around Champ de Mars. It was a lovely park and Alec loved it, holding Magnus’ hand in his own as they slowly came to a stop and Alec chuckled, cocking his head to the side. Well, they’ve already visited the tower, but he wanted to go closer again and- “Yes?” asked Alec when he saw that Magnsu was thinking about something and the other just shook his head.

“Nothing,” said Magnus and winked. “Just thinking how lovely you look under the dim lights of Paris,” said Magnus and Alec’s eyes widened. He did? “Your eyes are shining so brightly,” said Magnus, cupping Alec’s cheek and the other’s cheeks heated up a little bit. “Ah, my Archer,” teased Magnus and as soon as that left Magnus’ mouth, Alec's brain melted into mush and he realised…  _ was Magnus roleplaying to be the Prince of Edom? _ Alec got tongue tied and he couldn’t string together a coherent sentence.

“I-I, Magnus, are you, um… I the Archer and-and you are the-the-”

“What’s wrong, angel?” asked Magnus and wrapped his arms around Alec’s neck and pulled him closer. Magnus was very amused to see Alec’s reactions and he was interested in more of them. Alec was always so responsive to everything, so he wondered how he would react. Now he knew that he was writing about him in the book, so he decided to play around a little bit. Alec’s reaction didn’t disappoint at all. Alec was too much for him to handle, biting into his lip. Ah, it was also exciting for Magnus himself.

“Magnus, what are you doing?” whispered Alec, finally able to get the words out and his heart was almost under control. Magnus leaned in and whispered into his ear.

“Is this how you address your Prince?”

That was when Alec completely lost all of his control and he gulped down, Magnus laughing quietly when he pulled back. It was fun playing around like this, but their eyes then locked and Magnus’ laughter soon died out when he saw Alec’s hungry eyes.  _ Oh.  _ He didn’t realise that him teasing around like this would have so much of an impact on Alexander, but he didn’t mind it. At all. it was fun. And kind of hot. “Magnus, you… I mean I- what are you?”

“Fun, isn’t it?” asked Magnus with a wink.

Alec gulped again and nodded. Magnus roleplaying as the Prince of Edom was immensely hot. “Y-yeah,” whispered Alec and then held in his breath. “I-I, um, well… I do like you as a Prince, it totally suits you,” said Alec and Magnus waggled his eyebrows. 

“Mm-hmm,” said Magnus, his voice tickling Alec’s earlobe and he pulled back a little bit, hugging Alec’s chin with his fingers and fixed his gaze, making sure that Alec was looking at him, and only at him. “My Archer,” said Magnus and grinned when he saw Alec trying his best not to crack. 

“My Prince,” mumbled Alec back and before Magnus could say anything, Alec attacked his lips with his own, quickly deepening their kiss. Alec licked himself into Magnus’ mouth, still tasting the sweet wine on his tongue from before and it was making his head spin, pressing up more against Magnus. Alec was quite aggressive and Magnus loved that sudden boldness that his angel got, eagerly kissing him back and it didn’t take too long for both of them to be breathing hard, uneven, Alec already trying to take off Magnus’ jacket, but then he realised-

“Alexander, we should-”

“Hotel, now, go,” said Alec and Magnus grinned widely.

“Fuck yes,” said Magnus, giving Alec another kiss before he finally decided to call the taxi, which was going to take them straight to their hotel. 


	38. Chapter 38

“How are you feeling?” asked Alec as he watched Magnus getting ready for the book signing. It was going to be the first book signing that he was going to be doing in person and he was quite nervous. He wasn’t sure if anyone was going to show up - despite the book getting sold so well. Magnus’ book  _ Under the Pen of Heart _ was finally released a few weeks ago and it was selling very well. It still didn’t completely settle into Magnus’ heart, but he was slowly starting to realise just how his life was going to change. His name was out there and he was getting more and more recognised these days. He was being called to all sorts of interviews - the identity of M. A. Matthews was finally known to the broader public, so of course it meant that people would want to get interviews with him finally. But Magnus was very careful about which interview he agreed to do. He still felt uneasy to be broadcasted all over the world, so he was opening up to the others slowly. 

But this was different - this was going to be a book signing, so of course he agreed to it without even thinking about it twice. Ragnor made sure that everything was handled properly this time around and Alec also helped with a few things that made sure that Magnus was going to have the best experience that there was. And it was all going to the plan. Also Magnus was very excited to meet his fans, he was sure that it was going to be an amazing experience altogether. It was just… a lot for him to handle so he was happy that Alec was going to be going with him and was going to be sitting right there next to him. And of course all of the other friends were going to be there.

One of the most supportive friends of his was Marcel, of course. He was still a huge fan of him and he was beyond excited when he learned what kind of a book Magnus was writing. He was also the first in line to get it and when he read it he was an emotional mess. It was quite funny, but Magnus also appreciated it as he knew that Marcel was a big fan of his. Also he appreciated that even if Marcel was a fan of his, he didn’t make things weird. After the first star struck feeling wore of, he went back to being his friend and things were going amazing.

Magnus puffed his cheeks and looked over to Alec, smiling. “I’m so excited,” said Magnus and then made a little pause. “Also kind of nervous,” said Magnus and then rubbed the back of his neck. “Do you think people will show up this time?” asked Magnus and Alec snorted and laughed softly. Well, of course they were going to show up. They had to hire a bigger place when they were looking into where Magnus would be doing the book signing. It was just…. so many people were interested in meeting their favourite author. Magnus was very well aware of that, but it was still surreal. He never would have thought-

“Please tell me you’re joking,” said Alec and Magnus chuckled and shrugged.

“I am, yes,” said Magnus and winked in the end. He knew that the place was going to be packed and that was another reason for why he felt so nervous. He didn’t want to disappoint his fans - he needed to make a good impression. “I don’t know, it feels just so surreal, you know?” asked Magnus and Alec nodded, wrapped his arms around his boyfriend and pulled him closer. “But I got this because you’re gonna be there,” said Magnus and Alec gave him a little kiss and he nodded again.

“Yep, I will be right there with you,” was happy to confirm Alec. “Also Ragnor and Cat are going to be there,” said Alec and then continued thinking about who else was joining them. “And my mom and dad, your dad, Izzy, Simon, Marcel and Theo,” carried on Alec and Magnus laughing. Oh, yes, Alec made sure that everyone was going to be coming to the book signing. “Also Max is going to be there - he loves the new book even if it hasn’t been released yet,” said Alec and Magnus chuckled.

Yes, the Prince of the Edom books were slowly going to be released as well. Max read all of them and he was also a fan. Magnus allowed the little boy to read the book that he wrote while he and Alexander were travelling around. It was a funny little book and Alec loved that he was in the book this time. It was something that he was beyond proud of. There wasn’t going to be a greater thing that he would ever achieve in life.  _ Well, maybe Magnus was going to be a bigger achievement than this, but still! _

“You made sure that everyone is going to be coming, huh?” asked Magnus and Alec proudly nodded.

“Also - Jace and Clary are going to be there,” said Alec and Magnus snorted. “I am very impressed. Ever since I moved out and Clary now lives with him, he changed even more. My dad is so proud,” said Alec and Magnus grinned happily. Alec looked around the place, which was now his place as well and he smiled.  _ He moved into Magnus’ place a bit earlier than it was planned, but he couldn’t wait much longer.  _ And also it was perfect timing as Clary and Jace were also thinking about moving in together. 

Alec huffed. “It means so much, you know? That everyone is going to be there,” said Magnus and Alec nodded. He knew that much and it also meant the world to Alec - that everyone was going to be there. 

“You deserve it,” said Alec and then tugged onto Magnus’ tie and he hummed in agreement. Magnus looked so lovely in that purple tie. Magnus narrowed his eyes and then he arched his brow when he saw Alec playing with his tie.

“Is it too much?”

“Hmm?”

“The tie?” asked Magnus and huffed under his breath. “I don’t know - I thought it was a good idea. Ragnor also agreed, but now I’m not so sure anymore,” said Magnus and then clicked with his tongue. “Maybe it's too much?” he asked. A book signing was a formal event, yes, so he needed something to fit that. But it was also supposed to be a bit more laid back and a tie wasn’t a laid back attire, so he wasn’t so sure. Alec was wearing a normal sweater and didn’t put too much work into how he looked for the event. But then again, he looked amazing in everything and Magnus huffed and crossed his arms on top of his chest. 

“Magnus, you look lovely, you should stop worrying so much,” said Alec and winked. Magnus took a deep breath and placed his arms around Alec’s neck and pulled him closer a little bit and placed a kiss on top of his nose. Alec smiled happily and cutely wrinkled his little nose. Ah, Alec’s nose was adorable. 

“I know, I know,” said Magnus and Alec nodded.

“Everything is going to be okay, you’ll see,” said Alec and Magnus nodded as well.

“I know,” said Magnus and smiled. “I’m so happy - you know? I never thought this would be actually possible but now look at me,” said Magnus. “A book published under my real name and I’m no longer hiding behind fake names,” said Magnus and Alec only smiled and nodded as he was looking down into his beautiful eyes. “Ah, okay, I’m ready, I think we should really get going, huh?” asked Magnus and then looked over at the clock and Alec gave him a little nod.

“Yes, I think we really should or we’ll be late,” said Alec and smiled. Magnus was taking a long time to get ready, but he didn’t want to pressure him into getting ready too fast - Magnus needed more time, but now he was finally ready and Magnus took a deep breath and let his hands slide down Alec’s shoulders. 

“Yeah, I think we should get going, I don’t want to leave my fans waiting,” said Magnus and Alec winked. “Go grab the keys and I will put on my shoes?” asked Magnus and Alec quickly nodded and went over to the drawer where Magnus had his car keys - they were soon going to be there. Alec felt his heart fastening and beating hard. Magnus wasn’t the only one that was excited, Alec was beyond excited for the book signing to finally happen. He couldn’t wait to see how happy Magnus was going to be when he would meet his fans in person.

Alec has seen Magnus communicate with his fans online before and it was amazing. Magnus appreciated his readers so much - every single one of them. Magnus was so happy for having them and he made sure that he let them know how much he loved them even before when he was hiding his identity. But now it was going to be on a whole other level and it was going to be beautiful. Smiling, Alec quickly took out the keys from the drawer and went back to the door, where Magnus was already waiting for him. 

And like that they were on their way to the book shop where the book signing was happening. 

* * *

Magnus pulled by the bookshop and then drove over to the back where he was going to be parking. When he drove by it he saw a lot of people in front of there and he was quite impressed. Oh, the bookshop was quite popular, wasn’t it? If so many people were gathering there. It still kind of didn’t click that  _ all _ of them were there to meet him and he looked over at Alec after he parked and Alec smiled. There were so many people there for Magnus and Alec was so happy. 

“It sure is a popular bookshop, huh?” asked Magnus and Alec cocked his head.

“What?”

“I mean there’s many people out there,” said Magnus and Alec’s jaw dropped. He still didn’t realise that-

“Magnus,” said Alec and chuckled.

“Yes?”

“You do realise that all those people that we saw up there in front are here to meet you, right?” asked Alec and then watched how Magnus’ eyes widened and he started laughing.  _ Magnus was too adorable.  _ Magnus quickly opened the window of his car and stuck his head out and he blinked a few times. Was Alec serious? Oh, he knew that people were coming, but kind of didn’t really… it was different when Alec would tell him in numbers and then actually come down there to witness all of the people in person. Magnus’ heart warmed up and he cleared his throat.

“All of them?”

“Yep, I’m pretty sure,” said Alec and laughed softly.

“But-but there’s so many,” said Magnus and closed up the window of his car again and looked at Alec, getting kind of emotional. While he has healed from the past and all of the ups and downs that he was through, he was still emotional and he chewed on his lip. Alec noticed Magnus’ eyes welling up and he quickly hugged his face and shook his head, kissing his cheek.

“Aw, don’t care, hey, Magnus, what’s wrong?” asked Alec quickly and Magnus sniffled and then laughed, puffing his cheeks.

Magnus’ heart just fell too full - he couldn’t really put his feelings into words, but it was just- “It’s too much,” mumbled Magnus and Alec’s eyes widened. Oh, crap, did they allow too many people to come? Magnus told him that he was fine with such a high number, but maybe he and Ragnor pushed too much. “I-I just, I mean,” said Magnus. “I just feel so happy… so many people came only for me,” mumbled Magnus and Alec finally realised - Magnus felt overwhelmed with happiness. 

“There’s no need to cry, it’s okay, It’s just… no, Magnus don’t cry,” said Alec, who was now kind of getting emotional a s well. He couldn't stand to see Magnus cry even if he knew that they were tears of happiness, Magnus should always be only smiling. 

“I know,” said Magnus and started wiping his eyes. “Ugh, I’ll ruin my makeup,” said Magnus and then shook his head. “I just need to calm down and all will be okay,” said Magnus. Alec quickly nodded. Of course, everything was going to be more than okay.  _ But he also knew enough to expect more tears later.  _ “I’m happy you’re here with me. I don’t think I’d be able to do this alone,” said Magnus and Alec chuckled.

“Muse is always here to help out,” said Alec proudly and Magnus grinned.

“I love you so much,” said Magnus.

“Love you too,” said Alec with a wink and earned himself another kiss.

* * *

The book signing was going amazing - Magnus made a little speech before he started signing the books and Alec was right there next to him throughout the whole thing. He was holding his hand because Magnus was quite nervous and everyone was able to see it. But Magnus’ fans were amazing; they weren’t pushy at all, they respected their boundaries and were just happy to see their favourite author for the very first time. And Magnus was really just… it felt so surreal - the bookshop was  _ packed.  _ Completely packed, some people had to be standing outside and waiting to get inside and have their books signed by Magnus. Magnus was in complete awe when he heard that and he promised that he would organise another meeting like that so that the people who weren’t able to hear his speech and him reading a part of his book hear all of it in person. 

And what made the whole moment even more special to Magnus was the fact that everyone that he loved was there. Alec was sitting there next to him, of course, and Magnus made sure that he told his every fan that Alec was his muse. It made Alec flush and feel proud at the same time. He was glowing, but he also tried to tell Magnus that it was okay if Magnus didn’t introduce him to his fans, but Magnus didn’t care for that.  _ He needed everyone to know how special and important Alexander was to him.  _

Ragnor was there next to him as well as he was keeping things under control and was leading the whole event. The others weren’t all that far away from them either. Marcel and Underhill were sitting in the first row, Marcel’s eyes glowing as he was listening to Magnus’ speech. Asmodeus and Alec’s parents were sitting a few rows behind the two of them. Izzy, Simon, Clary, Jace and Catarina were standing more at the back as they wanted the others to have a closer look at their favourite author. But still, Magnus was able to see them and it brought such a huge smile on his face.

He could tell how proud of his father was of him and it meant so much to Magnus to have him there as well. Asmodeus was literally glowing with pride and he couldn’t take his eyes away from his boy - this was what he always wanted for his son. To be recognised by people properly and to be shown love. It finally happened and as a parent he couldn’t  _ not _ get emotional. It was such an emotional journey for all of them and Alec puffed his cheeks every now and then as he watched Magnus signing the books slowly, taking time with all of his fans and he didn’t care if they would be there much longer than it was planned. Everyone deserved his attention - if it wasn’t for them, Magnus wouldn’t be where he was today.

Magnus was having a hard time from tearing up and trying not bursting in tears. His fans were so sweet, everyone would stop to tell him how much his books meant to them. Even if they were cheesy romance novels, but it was so much more to them. Not to mention that the book that he published under his real name reached so many hearts. It helped a lot of his younger fans with dealing with a lot of things. It gave them hope, they related to so many things and Magnus was just happy that he was able to help out so many people. Because that was all that he ever wished to do with his works - to express himself and touch the hearts of others. And to be a sort of escape for them. And to hear that he managed to do that just made him so emotional.

_ So many people loved his works, so many people were touched by his works.  _ He should have done such a meeting a long time ago, he shouldn’t have let that one single fail have such a big impact on him, but at the same time, he was thankful that he truly took the time and realised that. It was one of the best days of Magnus’ life and he was going to remember it forever, he was literally glowing when Alec would look at him, he couldn’t stop smiling. He didn’t really do much - he just sat there, but he knew how much it meant to Magnus that he was there. 

The whole event - the book reading and the book signing took around three hours. A lot later than Magnus intended it to be, but he just couldn’t deny any of his fans and by the end of it, he was tired. Tired, but so happy and he was happy that he was able to meet all of the people that showed up to the event. After everyone left home, Alec wanted to go out and celebrate with all of their friends, but Magnus wasn’t feeling it. After all he was too tired, so the two of them decided to leave the celebrating portion for another day and decided to go home.

Magnus left for the car earlier than Alec, who was still saying goodbye to his parents, his siblings and the rest of their friends, who were all in high spirits. It was an amazing time and Magnus was smiling as he watched Alec chatting up with all of them outside, sighing happily and he slid down the car chair and closed his eyes - there were so emotions that he was feeling at the same time and he needed a while to get himself under control or Alec would again witness him being an emotional mess. Magnus managed not to cry too much while meeting his fans, but now that he was alone in the car all of the emotions came rushing back and he huffed under his breath and puffed his cheeks.

They were all good emotions, but he felt just so happy that he couldn’t keep it all in and as he blinked, tears were streaming down his face. He knew that his books helped people before, but now that he met the people in person that would tell him what they’ve been through and reading his books helped them deal with so many things… it was so amazing. He was happy and he sniffled softly, trying to quickly wipe the tears away. He didn’t want Alexander to see him cry like this, he knew that his boyfriend hated seeing him cry, biting into his lip and he then unlocked his phone and went through the pictures that he took with his fans.

All of them were so precious and as he kept scrolling through the pictures, he was getting emotional again. Every face had a story behind them and he just shook his head. It was getting too much again and he let the tears fall.  _ He hasn’t been this happy ever.  _ Not that he could remember, placing his hand on top of his mouth and he tried to control his breathing, looking up at the ceiling and he huffed under his breath. “Ah, man,” said Magnus, reaching for the tissues and he shook his head. “Alexander, hurry up come here and hug me,” said Magnus, chewing his lip and he smiled softly.

Alec did decide to join him in the car a few moments later and Magnus wiped away the tears, sniffling and he looked down, kind of slumped over the chair so that Alec wouldn’t see the tears and Alec just smiled as he opened the door of the car and got inside. He pouted - aw, Magnus was really tired, wasn’t he? “Sorry it took me such a long time to say goodbye to everyone,” said Alec. Magnus said goodbye to everyone earlier and went over to the car as he needed some time alone. “You’re really tired, aren’t you? It’s okay, we’ll go home. Do you want me to drive?” asked Alec and Magnus shook his head.

“It’s fine,” said Magnus, but still wouldn’t look up.

“Okay,” said Alec and then smiled. “You sure everything is okay?” asked Alec and reached out with his hand, gently hugging Magnus’ face with his hands and his eyes widened when he felt that Magnus’ cheeks were wet. His eyes widened and he quickly lifted Magnus’ face up and his heart dropped. “Magnus-”

“I’m too happy,” said Magnus and sobbed. Alec didn’t like seeing Magnus cry, but when he said that his heart just melted. He was too cute. “I can’t stop crying,” he carried on, angrily wiping the tears away and he shook his head. “I can’t deal with being so happy. Take responsibility and hug me,” said Magnus, who was just joking of course as he cracked up in the middle of it all, but he still wished that Alec would actually hug him. Alec’s hugs were amazing and from the beginning they were able to calm him down. 

Alec smiled and then backed his car seat so that Magnus was able to sit into his lap as comfortably as he possibly could given the circumstances. Magnus happily climbed into Alec’s lap and allowed the younger to wrap his arms around him and he was finally able to relax in Alec’s arms a little bit, his tears slowly drying up and Alec was smiling the entire time, his hand gently drawing uneven patterns against Magnus’ back. Magnus took a deep breath and then slowly pulled away, looking into Alexander’s lips, who smiled and his eyes lit up. “Yay, you’re not crying anymore,” said Alec and Magnus chuckled.

“Told you, your hugs are healing,” said Magnus and both of them laughed as Magnus pulled away, but still kept himself seated on top of Alexander and he huffed under his breath. “Man, I’m so tired, but so happy,” said Magnus and Alec winked.

“I’m glad you had fun today,” said Alec and held Magnus’ hand.

“It was amazing, I had the best time ever,” said Magnus. “I’m glad I had all of you around to share such an important moment with,” said Magnus and pouted. “I feel bad that we didn’t go out celebrating. I mean we had plans, but I-”

“Don’t worry about it, we get it,” said Alec. “It’s good that you took another hour for your fans, they deserved it. And so did you,” said Alec and Magnus chewed on his lip and nodded.

“Hearing all of their stories,” said Magnus and Alec was just looking up at him. “I can’t… A part of me still can’t believe it, but I’m so happy that my books were able to help out so many people,” said Magnus. “I guess I just need some time for it all to sink, you know?” asked Magnus and Alec nodded.

“I get it,” said Alec. “It’s a lot to take in,” said Alec. “But I’m glad you finally see how loved you are,” he said and Magnus was again tearing up.

“I was loved way before this,” said Magnus and then bit his lip, looking down at Alec, who was smiling back and he nodded. That was true. “I love you so much, thank you for showing me how loved I truly am,” he said and Alec wrapped his arms around Magnus again and pressed a kiss upon his lips. 

“I love you too,” muttered Alec back against Magnus’ lips as they melted right into another kiss.

After a few moments, the two of them slowly drove off back home; nothing was better than going back home. He had a lot of fun and he knew that his life was about to change a lot after this, it already was - for the better. He couldn’t wait what the future was going to bring his and Alexander’s way, but he knew that it was exciting and he was beyond excited to see just what else was in store for him and Alexander, who was slowly finishing up his studies.

Big changes were lying ahead and both of them were beyond ready for them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading the story so far. We have reached the end. It does feel bitter sweet, but the boys have come such a long way. They're so happy and this was so much fun to write.  
> Thank you so much for all the support mean s so much to me <3


End file.
